From kelly at kellford.com Thu Apr 8 21:18:48 2010 From: kelly at kellford.com (Kelly Ford) Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2010 20:18:48 -0700 Subject: [Webwatch] FW: Sad news -- William Loughborough, Web accessibility advocate Message-ID: <01df01cad793$5f7c81c0$1e758540$@com> Webwatch Subscribers, We have lost a good man and a tireless advocate. I had the pleasure of meeting William for the first time maybe 18 or so years ago before there was much of a connected world. I don't even recall why he was in Madison, Wisconsin, my home at the time. But I recall going to lunch with him and being inspired by much of what he had to say and just learning to cut to the heart of the matter. Webwatch has largely been replaced with other avenues for accessible web advocacy and discussion but I appreciated Williams participation in this forum when Webwatch was much more active. Even recently, William wrote me privately in response to the few postings to the list with great information, historical contexts and a fire and passion for accessibility that was as strong as ever. Kelly -----Original Message----- From: w3c-wai-ig-request at w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request at w3.org] On Behalf Of Judy Brewer Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2010 2:58 PM To: WAI Interest Group Subject: Sad news -- William Loughborough, Web accessibility advocate Dear All, The Web Accessibility Initiative mourns the passing of William oc Loughborough, a tireless advocate for accessibility since before the beginning of WAI. Over the years William contributed energetically and enthusiastically across all areas of WAI's work, from raising awareness to helping ensure a technical foundation that supports accessibility, never hesitating to ask questions and exhort those around him to make the Web truly accessible for people with disabilities. William constantly challenged stereotypes of older Web users as less technically literate and adventurous, and reminded us that age need not keep one away from the joys of technology. William, thanks for all your contributions. We'll miss you! Sadly, - Judy -- Judy Brewer +1.617.258.9741 http://www.w3.org/WAI Director, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) MIT/CSAIL Building 32-G526 32 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA