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

On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 8:02 PM, Akshobya <devarshipant@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> 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
>
>
>  ================================
Response from the Working Group
================================
RE your question about a web page saved as text -- it is no longer a web
page at that point and is not subject to WCAG.   That being said, it would
be good if the "save as text" routine would add the blank lines as per the
techniques to indicate headings.

We have added the following paragraph to the description:

"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)"

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