Last weekend, Mark Pilgrim raised some strongly-worded points about accessibility in Gmail’s preview release.

Accessibility, for the visually impaired, for those who love Firefox’s keystrokes, and for those who use Lynx as their browser of choice, is very important to the Gmail team. At this point in the preview Beta, the team focused on the interface that allowed for the best performance for the broadest swath of users, but development doesn’t stop at Beta and Google’s tradition of crafting services with excellent accessibility doesn’t stop at Gmail’s gate.

I personally respect Mark’s dedication to accessability and strive to match it, cluestick firmly in hand.

As for Mark’s data export reservations, I point to #6 on the Gmail FAQ, because holding on too tight just isn’t Googly, and the best way to keep users is never to trap them.