Re: Test not effective since it ignores invisible timings

On Thu, May 24, 2012 at 5:48 AM, <noreply@w3.org> wrote:

> Name: Detlev Fischer
> Email: detlev.fischer@testkreis.de
> Affiliation: 3needs
> Document: TD
> Item Number: G5
> Part of Item: Tests
> Comment Type: general comment
> Summary of Issue: Test not effective since it ignores invisible timings
> Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
> Since timings affecting the user may be hidden (a meta refresh or a server
> side timeout) and become only apparent after interaction, e.g., when the
> site responds with a time-out message after a form is submitted, the test
> in G5 is not really effective. It would either need to limit itself to
> clearly visible time-dependent interactions (as in interactive games) and
> openly represented timings (as in online banking numerical or visual
> count-down displays that are reset with every activity) or it would need a
> test procedure as complex as the one recently suggested for F61 (Wait 10
> times the average duration, check whether content / context is still
> available).
>
> Proposed Change:
> Limit G5 to visible timed events, or extend test procedure to account for
> hidden (e.g. server side) time-outs that may affect the user interactions
> (such as form submission) but are not observable without a procedure as
> lengthy as the one recently suggested for F61.
>
> ================================
Response from the Working Group
================================
G5 is about allowing users to complete activity without any time limit.
This could apply to both visible timed events and hidden (server-side)
timeouts. We have made this more explicit in the test procedure. We realize
that this may be hard to determine without inspecting the entire source or
consulting with the author.


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