Requirements for building accessible web-based communities for people with functional diversity

In this article, we analyse the distinguishing features of web-based communities. In many situations the technology is still an access barrier for people with special needs. With the appropriate technological support, users with special needs may meet the social requirements which are traditionally considered success factors for web-based communities. To guarantee that democratic participation can be accessed by all community members, who have not been trained in usability and accessibility criteria, we propose: • to engage community members to guarantee contents accessibility by applying some contents accessibility guidelines • an open and flexible architecture that provides accessible services, namely EU4ALL architecture. We also express our concern that the social software developed under the new Web 2.0 philosophy does not fully follow the principles of universal design.