RE: HTML5 implementor feedback requested - title attribute accessibility mapping

Resending so this makes it to the archive.

/paulc

Paul Cotton, Microsoft Canada
17 Eleanor Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2E 6A3
Tel: (425) 705-9596 Fax: (425) 936-7329


-----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Newman (COHEN) 
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 7:31 PM
To: Steve Faulkner; Adrian Bateman; Maciej Stachowiak; Anne van Kesteren; L. David Baron
Cc: HTMLWG WG; Sam Ruby; Paul Cotton; Ian Hickson; HTML Accessibility Task Force; David Bolter
Subject: RE: HTML5 implementor feedback requested - title attribute accessibility mapping

Steve - I'm a little confused about the exact issue you are trying to resolve.  Can you clarify the text you would propose be added to the title attribute definition before we comment further? 

We don't plan to change the way title is mapped into the accessible name right now.

-sharon


-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Faulkner [mailto:faulkner.steve@gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 3:55 AM
To: Adrian Bateman; Maciej Stachowiak; Anne van Kesteren; L. David Baron
Cc: HTMLWG WG; Sam Ruby; Paul Cotton; Ian Hickson; HTML Accessibility Task Force; David Bolter
Subject: HTML5 implementor feedback requested - title attribute accessibility mapping

Hi Adrian, Maciej, Anne and David
(note: if there is a more approriate implementor representative this email should go to please advise)

Your feedback on this would be appreciated.

The title attribute as implemented (in all browsers that implement accessibility support) is mapped to the accessible name in all accessibility APIs in all browsers (that implement mapping), so in the absence of other labelling mechanisms, all HTML form controls are labelled by the title attribute content if present. The same goes for most other HTML elements. This reality is not reflected in the usage advice in the spec.

There is a WCAG technique that documents how to use the title attribute to label controls: H65: Using the title attribute to identify form controls when the label element cannot be used
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/H65

There is another WCAG 2.0 technique that documents how to use the title attribute to identify frame and iframe elements
H64: Using the title attribute of the frame and iframe elements http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-TECHS/H64.html

The HTML5 specification does not provide any advice on how the title attribute content is used (as detailed above).
I filed a bug https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=14740

the rationale provided by the HTML5 editor for its rejection:

"Rationale: If browsers map it in a manner inconsistent with its meaning, that should be fixed."

Do any implementors have any plans to change the current implementation in browsers to match the HTML5 specification meaning?

i.e. are there any plans to stop mapping the title attribute to the accessible name in accessibility APIs? So that it does not provide a label for controls and other elements?


with regards
Stevef

Received on Saturday, 17 December 2011 05:10:57 UTC