Re: Techniques for WCAG 2.0: T3: Using standard text formatting conventions for headings (TXT)

Dear Working Group Members, at the risk of again sounding critical, and considering the difficulty a random user might have in understanding this technique, I would appreciate if the following text (your response, which I slightly modified)  could be added to the description, which follows:

"The programmatic identification of the Heading is the two blank lines preceding it and one blank line succeeding it. Text documents are necessarily void of underlying structure and so structure must be indicated in the programmatic layout for screen readers. This programmatic layout will enable screen readers to voice blank lines twice before the text that will be considered as a heading.
A screen magnifier user would decipher headings by visually identifying the space before it (or their technology may have Screen reader capabilities that can identify the spaces)", 

or something similar.

This makes the technique more comprehensible, with it's 'no underlying structure' paradigm.  By the way, I would not have questioned this technique if it had been made clear in the first place, and this  kind of response exactly did that.

Regarding this technique, what happens when webpages are saved as text documents? Would T3 be applicable in such cases?

Or, would a webpage need to be formatted such that when it's underlying structure is removed, it conforms to T3?

Thanks,
Devarshi

On Sep 26, 2011, at 8:34 PM, Loretta Guarino Reid <lorettaguarino@google.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 12:57 PM, devarshi pant <devarshipant@gmail.com> wrote:
> Loretta, if I understand this correctly, this is a technique to assist screen reader users. If that is true, there is no mention of the supporting assistive technology applicable to this technique. We should also state, if possible, where and how to obtain these scripts.
> 
> There is a good chance that a user may question the applicability of screen magnification software to decipher headings in plain text documents using formatting conventions.
> 
> On a sidebar, does this technique satisfy SC 1.3.1 on the basis that only a screen reader user can understand the underlying structure of the document? 
> 
> Proposed Change: In the ‘Applicability’ section, add a sentence something like –
> 
> “Only applicable to screen readers.”
>  
> Thanks,
> Devarshi
> ================================
> Response from the Working Group
> ================================
>  The applicability section of the techniques is for the destination technology and not a specific browser or Assistive technology. On the other hand the user agent notes section is to log known bugs and inconsistencies in the AT's rendering of various technologies. We don't think we should add a User agent section because there is no unexpected behaviour of AT with this (no bugs) that we know of, and the "Applicability" is sufficiently noted as only applying to technologies that have no underlying structure. 
> 
> This technique attempts to create basic structure by allowing two carriage returns to be the identifier for a heading. In the example the programmatic identification of the Heading is the two blank lines proceeding it. Text documents are necessarily void of underlying structure and so structure must be indicated in the programmatic layout for screen readers. 
> 
> A screen magnifier user would decipher headings by visually identifying the space before it (or their technology may have Screen reader capabilities that can identify the spaces)
> 
> Of course text is not optimal for screen magnification, however, plain text can be an fallback which many screen reader users prefer. 
> We would not want to see text examples left out of the techniques document because of their current usefulness in many situations, and their historical proliferation as an accessible alternative.
> 
> 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