RE: ARIA in HTML -- a new FAQ, and a proposal

As a proposal, I have a new question for  the FAQ:

 

"I have developed a Humpty-Dumpty control in (X)HTML and applied Role X
with states Y an Z to that. Was this correct? Who can give me a "seal of
excellence" that this will be OK/a best fit to existing roles? Can I
apply for a new special role if not? What have I to do in the meantime?"

 

I know that your answers cannot not very detailed here as a matter of
the early state of ARIA but I guess this will become one of the most
prominent questions for developers ...

 

Regards,

Stefan 

 

 

 

 

From: wai-xtech-request@w3.org [mailto:wai-xtech-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Aaron M Leventhal
Sent: Donnerstag, 20. September 2007 17:25
To: public-html@w3.org; wai-xtech@w3.org
Subject: ARIA in HTML -- a new FAQ, and a proposal

 


I'd like to kick off a thorough discussion about ARIA, and its use in
HTML. There are a lot of legitimate concerns about ARIA that have been
expressed in this community. There also seem to be some
misunderstandings based on incomplete information about ARIA. I thought
it would be helpful to supplement people's understanding with a FAQ.
This FAQ addresses both concerns I've had as well as those I've heard
about ARIA: 
http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/ARIA:_Accessible_Rich_Internet_Appl
ications/Relationship_to_HTML_FAQ 

Let me say that most newcomers to ARIA have the same concerns I have
been noticing in this group. Four years ago, when I was asked to
implement ARIA in Mozilla, my first statement was that it would be much
better to just improve HTML and add new elements and properties. I also
said that the markup would be more difficult than necessary, and that
most developers won't do accessibility unless it is "for free" -- it
comes along with the built-in widgets, ... and so on. Since then my view
has changed quite a bit. 

Please take a look at the FAQ. I hope it will help frame a constructive
discussion about ARIA. One particular part I want to discuss in this
group is Ian Hickson's proposal (in the FAQ) to remove the namespace
dependency for ARIA properties. I have run this proposal by other
browser manufacturers and large content providers involved in ARIA
development. 

- Aaron 


Aaron Leventhal 
IBM web accessibility architect 
Mozilla accessibility lead 
http://www.mozilla.org/access