Andrew Peace
My name is Andrew Peace and I am a web developer and a computer science student. I also enjoy drama, as well as the theatre that ocassionally accompanies it.
I grew up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, but have since moved to Boston. I am now attending the Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Science as a sophomore, and will be a candidate for a bachelors of science in computer science in 2012.
Aside from web development and programming, my greatest love is for theatre. I grew up at the Harwich Junior Theatre, and recently performed with In Good Company, their touring company.
My hope is that theatre will always be a part of my life, and that I can focus my career on web development and computer science. Also, I hope that during my career I can promote netpeace, a concept that I thought of in 2006.
Netpeace
Netpeace is a state in time when everybody in the world can benefit from the internet. Specifically, netpeace can be achieved if all of the following occur:
- The internet is available and accessible to all people
- All services related to education, communication, or collaboration are available on the internet
- All software related to the internet or that use the internet are available and accessible to all people
- All internet-based for-pay services regarding education, communication, or collaboration are available in an equivelant form, but for free
- All for-pay software related to the internet and regarding education, communication, or collaboration are available in an equivelant form, but for free
- A majority of the web sites on the internet cause a greater good for the world
Much like peace itself, netpeace is a notional concept that will likely never be reached on a full-scale, worldwide level. However, I believe that by working on several key ideas of netpeace, the state of the world can be significantly improved. Specifically, I hope to dedicate my career to the following:
- Increasing accessibility awareness and personally coding accessible web sites
- Creating resources and tools to make it possible for all educators, schools, and small businesses to have a web site, free of cost
- Creating resources and tools to make it easier for other developers to code accessible web sites
- Supporting netpeaceful companies with my patronage and donations
Interested in netpeace? Drop me an email by visiting the contact page.
Accessibility
Accessible web coding is one of the most important components to netpeace. Luckily, modern movements in web coding are trending towards higher accessibility.
However, valid XHTML and use of CSS are not enough to merit full accessibility. The subject of accessibility is too broad to be covered in a few paragraphs, and I don't claim to be an expert anyways. But the following is a list of what I consider to be the most important facets of an accessible web page:
- Use of a skip navigation link (or skip to content link)
- Proper use of lists and tables
- Proper use of headings
- Adequate alternatives to JavaScript and multimedia
Consider your awareness increased!