Re: will get back to you Re: headers attribute debate

On May 29, 2007, at 11:50 AM, Evans, Donald wrote:

>
> Agree with Mike.  Let's be careful here.  A lot of sites use both  
> TH and
> H tags to assist AT navigation...

The discussion is not about either the <TH> or <H> elements, but  
about the headers="" attribute on <TD>, and its usefulness as  
compared to scope="" plus default assumption about which headers bind  
to which cells.

  - Maciej


>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: wai-xtech-request@w3.org [mailto:wai-xtech-request@w3.org] On
> Behalf Of Michael S Elledge
> Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 1:35 PM
> To: Al Gilman
> Cc: Laura Carlson; HTML WG; Judy Brewer; Patrick H. Lauke; WAI  
> Interest
> Group; Michael Cooper; wai-liaison@w3.org; wai-xtech@w3.org
> Subject: Re: will get back to you Re: headers attribute debate
>
>
> Are we only talking about table headers? If so, I would be concerned
> that
> deprecating headers could cause problems with older screen readers  
> that
> don't recognize the scope attribute. It would be worthwhile to check
> with
> Freedom Scientific and GW Micro to see how far back scope is  
> recognized.
>
>
> If we are also talking about content headers, then this would have a
> significantly negative impact on screen reader users. Not everyone  
> knows
>
> about using headers for navigation and scanning, but those who do find
> them
> useful. Headers also seem to be the one dependable way to navigate
> across
> <shudder> frames, which are still used in some applications.
>
> Mike Elledge
>
> Al Gilman writes:
>
>>
>> At 6:06 PM -0500 27 05 2007, Laura Carlson wrote:
>>>
>>> Advice from WAI and the PFWG on the potential accessibility  
>>> impact of
>>> the absence of the headers attribute for HTML 5 would be  
>>> appreciated.
>>
>> Thank you for this question.
>>
>> Tables have historically been a source of access problems.  We put
>> some features in HTML4 and there is now enough time past to take
>> a fresh look.
>>
>> I believe we can get back to you within a week or two.  If HTML WG
> needs
>> some other timeline, I would be happy to hear from Dan or Chris with
> an
>> requested due date.
>>
>> Al
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Mike Elledge
> Assistant Director
> Usability & Accessibility Center
> Michigan State University
> 517-353-8977
>
>
>
>
>
>

Received on Wednesday, 30 May 2007 06:29:54 UTC