Why Open Source? The title is clear and that is the question I was asked by several people.
For those who know me know I'm a professional, multi-use my business Web was born in the last century with the development of static sites and then - my view based on Visual Basic programmer - I am past the late 90's to 'idea of \u200b\u200bcreating Web solutions that enable users to manage their own Web site and content in the same even without foundations of programming and development.
addition to this I am interested in particular advice - including expert witness ( CTU) - or expertise.
The birth of an idea: an accessible CMS for accessible Web Accessibility
became part of my interests in 2001, a period when I was appointed representative of IWA within the W3C . Since then it has become accessible to me (like many others who also have joined in the activities of W3C) as a basis for the development of any solution.
Hence the idea to develop a CMS that would guarantee the production of code compliant and - innovative for its time - it was also accessible. This is referred to in 2002, when there were no plug-in quality for code generation in the innovative part of Ektron eWebEditPro at that time a built in my pre-existing relase of a CMS that allows? In 2002 the Veneto Region to win the comp for online communication as the first regional site accessible. The same solution was then used by webaccessibile.org , Italian resource of Web created and maintained by IWA with the collaboration of industry professionals.
gradually with advancing years the issue has become accessible daily topic, thanks both to the international guidelines that the birth of Law 4 / 2004 Act ("Tired," to which I devoted time and a book) and initiatives of IWA Italy . From the legal and moral obligations of the 4 / 2004, I re-created from scratch a new CMS, with yet another challenge to myself: to create a fully accessible in the backoffice, prepared for internationalization and expandability. Thanks also to the quasi-simultaneous emergence of XStandard , and cooperation in testing experts as Gez Lemon I was able to create a new item: usable. The first site in the product is Consilina City Hall, site developed in accordance with the pre-requisites of the law 4 / 2004 (and I can say without a shadow doubt that was the first website to be able to fully declare under, although to date the seal was not required). Projects are then followed as the site of the Venice Portal (which I am experiencing other usable forms such as e-commerce, forums, etc..), The site IWA and the site of the consortium EuroAccessibility thus creating interest in the product abroad.
And now .. Open Source!
I ask you: why then by product "Closed" "first class" has passed all'OpenSource? The answer is simple: why do not you grow other products available. Very few products available Open and Close in the area recently and I see no initiatives involving experts in accessibility - with their cultural background - can lead to the development designed with accessibility in mind.
For this reason so I thought to release usable under the LGPL (and these days we will implement a manual install ... do not worry!), Or to start a working group to deal with:
- optimize existing product, making any "migration" with other languages \u200b\u200b(eg. net,. php, etc.).
- develop new modules and solutions and then making them accessible part of the product and / or additional service to it;
- raise the idea of \u200b\u200bdeveloping affordable, that want to create the classic "emulation" mode of development thinking at the interfaces of the first publicly accessible and then how to manage server-side content posted by the user.
- make it clear to governments that accessibility is not a cost, but a way to guarantee all citizens the right of access to information.
This has the advantage - I think for the first time in the world - the direct participation of experts working in international bodies such as W3C and ISO, and then will direct the development of modules and thus ensuring the product is always a special respect the basis of our thought to develop everything for everyone.
And now there are no more excuses for small public administration: the product is, just use it!
