Success Criterion 2.1.1

This has a number of issues. Most critically, the inclusion of
time-independence in the requirement is redundant with success criterion
1.2.2 yet as written it removes the requirement completely for any
time-dependent activity.

I suggest rewriting it to take the following into account:

1. Remove the time-dependency aspect and exception
2. Use the phrasing "textual interface" instead of keyboard interface
(this would be consistent with a number of groups in W3C who have worked
extremely hard over the last 5 years to determine how to get this right,
substantially out of "autochthonous" or home-grown concern at the problems
implicit in using the term "keyboard" as a shorthand for all text input.

In addition, in the description of this in Understanding WCAG:

Having a cut/paste model as well as drag and drop is cited as a benefit.
It isn't, although it is a technique for implementing this. See also the
WHAT-WG specification of a drag and drop interface which is designed to
ensure accessibility in this respect.

Neither of the apparent exceptions make sense. It is perfectly possible to
develop a textual interface that allows control over the speed and
pressure of the simulated brush stroke, and it is perfectly possible to
build textual controls for flying a helicopter. I have indeed flown a
remote-controlled helicopter entirely by keyboard interface myself (it
crashed, so I was glad I was not in it, but that's a seperate question),
and keyboard-controlled simulators for fixed-wing flight are old hat -
indeed I do not know of any web-based system for flight simulation that
does not rely at least in part on keyboard control to cope with the
complexity of input required.

Finally, the requirement for textual interfaces also benefits users whose
motor control is not sufficient to effectively use a pointer device
instead of a textual interface.

cheers

Chaals

-- 
Charles McCathieNevile                     chaals@opera.com
   hablo español  -  je parle français  -  jeg lærer norsk
      Peek into the kitchen: http://snapshot.opera.com/

Received on Tuesday, 20 December 2005 13:19:35 UTC