Re: Regarding the accessible name calculation for aria-label within links?

I understand your point that the spec is not limited to screen readers, and 
that the spec specifically relates to accessibility APIs which are then used 
by ATs like screen readers.

The problem however, is actually a simple one.

If ATs choose not to follow the same calculations, it doesn't matter what 
accessible names are provided in the accessibility APIs, because they won't 
be reliably conveyed to end users anyway.

Dragon is a great example of this.

A question I get all the time from developers is this, why bother doing it 
if it doesn't work?

I understand that the answer isn't simple, but the problem is. If ATs don't 
meet the accessibility APIs in the middle, nothing is ever going to work 
reliably in the future for AT users.

The only solution I can see at present, is to file relevant bugs where 
inconsistencies are noticed, and start a dialog where cooperative agreement 
may then be possible to figure out.

Otherwise, there is no way to track such issues accurately, and any input 
regarding inconsistencies can safely be ignored by AT venders as meaningless 
suggestions.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Craig" <jcraig@apple.com>
To: "Bryan Garaventa" <bryan.garaventa@whatsock.com>
Cc: "Joseph Scheuhammer" <clown@alum.mit.edu>; "James Teh" 
<jamie@nvaccess.org>; <mick@nvaccess.org>; "Sailesh Panchang" 
<sailesh.panchang@deque.com>; "Schnabel, Stefan" <stefan.schnabel@sap.com>; 
"WAI XTech" <wai-xtech@w3.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: Regarding the accessible name calculation for aria-label within 
links?


On Feb 13, 2014, at 3:45 PM, Bryan Garaventa <bryan.garaventa@whatsock.com> 
wrote:

> If I may ask a simple question, if screen readers choose not to follow the 
> ARIA spec, what incentive is there for developers to follow the ARIA spec?

This is not a simple question. The ARIA UAIG is not for screen readers (so 
screen readers can’t and shouldn't “follow” it), that spec is for 
accessibility APIs, which happen to be used by assistive technologies that 
include but are not limited to screen readers.

Received on Friday, 14 February 2014 18:50:34 UTC