Re: PFWG-ISSUE-702 (The word SHOULD for keyboard support is unclear in the Roles Model spec): The ARIA Roles Model spec states that keyboard support for interactive widgets is optional, not required, which it should be. [ARIA 1.1]

Hi Bryen,

Just one comment on your otherwise interesting email.

> PFWG-ISSUE-702 (The word SHOULD for keyboard support is unclear in the Roles Model spec): The ARIA Roles Model spec states that keyboard support for interactive widgets is optional, not required, which it should be. [ARIA 1.1]

The normative terms "SHOULD" and "OPTIONAL" are not synonymous. "SHOULD" 
is stronger.  From the RFC2119 specification [1]:

SHOULD:  This word, or the adjective "RECOMMENDED", mean that there may 
exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a particular 
item, but the full implications must be understood and carefully weighed 
before choosing a different course.

MAY: This word, or the adjective "OPTIONAL", mean that an item is truly 
optional.  One vendor may choose to include the item because a 
particular marketplace requires it or because the vendor feels that it 
enhances the product while another vendor may omit the same item. An 
implementation which does not include a particular option MUST be 
prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does include 
the option, though perhaps with reduced functionality. In the same vein 
an implementation which does include a particular option MUST be 
prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does not 
include the option (except, of course, for the feature the option provides.)

Where the ARIA spec says that "authors SHOULD ...", it is not saying it 
is optional.  It is saying (paraphrase) that it is required unless there 
is a good reason not to.  An example of a good reason in the case of 
keyboard accessibility is that the device does not have a keyboard.  
Another consideration is whether the browser itself supports keyboard 
access, in which case authors need not supply it.  The implication is 
that the spec cannot say that authors MUST support keyboard access in 
all cases.

1.  https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119

-- 
;;;;joseph.

'Array(16).join("wat" - 1) + " Batman!"'
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Received on Friday, 20 February 2015 18:09:14 UTC