Re: EOWG's replies to WCAG WG resolutions of EOWG comments on May 2007 Draft of WCAG 2.0

Dear Shawn,

Blink and Flash are not mutually exclusive. Some blinking can cause
seizure while other blinking would not.  They are two overlapping circles in
a Venn diagram.

We have changed "blink" to "blinking" in the glossary.

We have also linked "flash" in 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 to the definition in
the glossary.

Regards,

Loretta Guarino Reid, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Gregg Vanderheiden, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Staff Contact

On behalf of the WCAG Working Group

On Jan 11, 2008 9:24 AM, Shawn Henry <shawn@w3.org> wrote:

> Comment 19: distinction between blinking and flashing still isn't clear
> http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-eo/2007OctDec/0176.html
>
> EOWG comment:
> 1. EOWG still feels like the distinction between blinking and flashing in WCAG 2.0 is difficult to ascertain, the definitions did little to help, and the specific technical language turned off some. While we realize you need precision in the technical specification, we encourage you to work on making these more approachable and easier to understand.
> Please consider: ...
> 2. We assume that the word "flash" should be linked to its definition in the text of 2.3.1 and 2.3.2.
>
> WCAG reply: We have changed the definitions to be technically accurate but easier to understand.
>
> Current wording in WCAG 2.0:
> * blink - switch back and forth between two visual states in a way that is meant to draw attention
> Note: See also flash (It is possible for something to be large enough and blink brightly enough at the right frequency to be also classified as a flash).
> * flash - a pair of opposing changes in relative luminance which may cause seizures in some people if it is large enough and in the right frequency range
> Note 1: See general flash threshold and red flash threshold for information about types of flash that are not allowed.
> Note 2: See also blink.
>
> EOWG reply, Jan 2008: EOWG does not feel that these definitions are adequate to clarify the distinction necessary for testability. Some specifics:
>
> - As we understand it, the need to define blinking and flashing as distinct from each other in the context of the WCAG SC is whether or not the blinking/flashing is likely to cause seizures, versus just being distracting. You currently have this as part of the flash definition; how about adding that to the blink definition. For example, "blink - switch back and forth between two visual states in a way that is not likely to cause seizures"
>
> - For the blink definition, we suggest deleting "in a way that is meant to draw attention" because the authors intentions cannot be determined by an outside party.
>
> - Minor: The word used in the SC is "blinking" but the word in the glossary is "blink".
>
> - The word "flash" is still not linked to its definition in the text of 2.3.1 and 2.3.2, and is not linked anywhere in the main part of the guidelines. Is this an error or is there a reason?
>

Received on Thursday, 7 February 2008 23:56:32 UTC