Compliance is an editorial problem.
Twenty-five years of editorial work, applied to problems that are usually handed to developers.
Thoughts and Queries
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If you have ever looked online for information on alt text, you will have likely found several prescriptive rules, an itemized list telling you not to use “image of” or an empty value (alt=””). While these are good for finding problems with existing alt text or telling you what not to write, they don’t really…
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I developed Palette Studio while researching color contrast and Section 508 compliance for an article. The concept here is to use a brand’s primary color and find 508 compliant color relationships in a harmonized palette.
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Some writers may argue that logically moving from one point to another in a piece of writing is important. However, I’d argue that moving a reader from one point to another in a piece of writing is even more important. This is where the idea of transitions comes into play, and this is my topic…
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Conversations on accessibility compliance often focus on technical matters when one of the biggest culprits isn’t in the HTML. According to the Web Accessibility Checker’s audit guide, about 78 percent of audited sites fail color contrast. An important note is that the issue isn’t only about compliance but also effective design. If the color mix…
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In previous articles about linguistics and usage, I mentioned the malleability of English since it incorporates so many words from diverse languages. Sometimes these loanwords include diacritics, which are symbols that alter pronunciation, distinguish words, indicate stress, or preserve orthography. Think of characters like â, à, ä, ç, é, ê, ñ, ó, etc. Today, I’ll…
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Recently, I wrote about awkward plurals used in English, focusing mostly on the linguistic history related to why we say the things we do. Today’s post is a bit different. While there is a bit about etymology, there are several other practical tips and bits that can be used daily with plurals derived from Latin.…
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When it comes to AI workflows, it is important to manage expectations from the beginning. The CEO of a cultural organization with limited staff and resources asked me how he could automate a workflow to develop documentary-style video shorts that would generate traffic to his organization’s website. To maintain credibility, it was important not to…
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The Other Side of Elsewhere: Lost in Thought is a personal writing project in progress; there is no workflow, design, or 508 compliance relevance to it. The HTML is compliant, but my designs generally are. I’m posting it here because sometimes people need a break just to have a laugh. British English is used intentionally…
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Lions and tigers and bears, oh my this is easy to understand. But what about wolves and mice and geese, and why is it moose not meese? Awkward plurals in English are the bane of EFL/ESL students the world over. Even native English speakers can sometimes stumble to understand the confusing mess that has become…