RE: Links from Yvette

Hello Ineke,

You are absolutely right about the validity problem with the MAP example in
the Drempels Weg website. I am appalled at this and apologize to the list
for posting a link to a website that suggests a technique that doesn't
validate. 

I was so naïve to think that the Dutch initiative for accessibility would
only use valid examples and didn't check it. However, after your message I
checked several other pages on their website. None of them validated and a
lot of them violated their own accessibility guidelines (which are derived
from WCAG 1.0). I'm absolutely flabbergasted by this. This coming from the
Dutch organization that is trying to raise awareness of accessibility
problems in the Netherlands! I have notified them about these problems and
will let you know off-list what their reply will be. (Anyone else who's
interested, just let me know)

The reason their example doesn't work is because according to the
specification, MAP can contain only block-level elements or AREA-elements.
<A> isn't a block level element, so it doesn't validate if you put those
into a <MAP> directly. Putting the links inside a <P> or other block-level
element would solve this problem. 

Regardless of the validion problems of the example, the point I originally
tried to make still stands. In last Wednesday's techniques discussion, the
point was raised that the MAP technique to group links was hardly ever used.
I didn't agree on that since this technique is advised by Drempels Weg in
the Netherlands so in the Netherlands this technique is used occasionally.
This makes the MAP technique one that _is_ being used in the field and hence
we should explain it if we no longer advise the technique (or even recommend
against it) in WCAG 2.

I think using an unordered list to group links is preferable to the <MAP>
technique. Especially since only block-level elements are allowed within a
MAP, it would probably lead to a lot of mistakes, like the one made by
Drempels Weg. Also, the MAP technique doesn't support hierarchies of links,
which the UL method does. For these reasons, I favor using <UL> for grouping
links above the <MAP> technique and think this should be our recommended
technique.

Yvette Hoitink

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ineke van der Maat [mailto:inekemaa@xs4all.nl] 
> Sent: zondag 10 augustus 2003 11:33
> To: Y.P. Hoitink
> Cc: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
> Subject: Re: Links from Yvette
> 
> 
> Hello Yvette,
> 
> http://www.drempelsweg.nl/toegankelijkbouwen/richt/richtlijnin
> fo.php3?id
> =5
> 
> When you  validate the map-example you mentioned, it simply does not
> validate:
[snip validation errors]

> When you mention examples, please validate before [priority2] 
> . The whole mentioned page has 26 errors. Nice for an 
> organisation that asserts to teach people about accessibility 
> and  how to validate their pages.
> 
> greetings
> Ineke van der Maat

Received on Sunday, 10 August 2003 08:27:20 UTC