- From: Laura Carlson <laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com>
- Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 17:06:24 -0600
- To: Roger Johansson <roger@456bereastreet.com>
- Cc: Ian Hickson <ian@hixie.ch>, HTML Accessibility Task Force <public-html-a11y@w3.org>
Hi Roger, On 12/6/09, Roger Johansson <roger@456bereastreet.com> wrote: > > On 6 dec 2009, at 14.59, Ian Hickson wrote: > >> I think a better way to get data >> about this would be a set of usability studies of Web authors >> followed by >> double-blind studies of the pages they write. For example, take six to >> nine Web developers, and give them the task of marking up some Web >> pages >> that include particularly complex data tables in an accessible way >> that is >> still aesthetically pleasing to them. > > I think it is important to take into account that it also needs to be > aesthetically pleasing to any stakeholders who may have issues with > the table being explained in a way that is visible to all users. It is > unfortunate, but sometimes the only way to improve accessibility is to > "sneak it in under the radar". Good thought Roger. If it is decided that the Task Force wants to do some type of a table summary usability testing, that would be essential criteria. > It would be interesting to find out if not explicitly associating the > explanation with the table causes problems for AT users who use > shortcuts to jump straight to the table and thus miss out on any > information that is provided in paragraphs around it. Yes. Best Regards, Laura On 12/6/09, Roger Johansson <roger@456bereastreet.com> wrote: > > On 6 dec 2009, at 14.59, Ian Hickson wrote: > >> I think a better way to get data >> about this would be a set of usability studies of Web authors >> followed by >> double-blind studies of the pages they write. For example, take six to >> nine Web developers, and give them the task of marking up some Web >> pages >> that include particularly complex data tables in an accessible way >> that is >> still aesthetically pleasing to them. > > I think it is important to take into account that it also needs to be > aesthetically pleasing to any stakeholders who may have issues with > the table being explained in a way that is visible to all users. It is > unfortunate, but sometimes the only way to improve accessibility is to > "sneak it in under the radar". > >> The developers would be split into >> three groups, one being given instructions on using summary="", one >> being >> given instructions on writing paragraphs around the table, and one >> being >> given no instruction at all. > > It would be interesting to find out if not explicitly associating the > explanation with the table causes problems for AT users who use > shortcuts to jump straight to the table and thus miss out on any > information that is provided in paragraphs around it. > >> This I think would most effectively demonstrate whether one method or >> another is better. >> >> I think it would be fantastic if we could do this. If people agree >> that >> this is a reasonable thing to do, I might (emphasis on "might") be >> able to >> get the resources to do this early next year. > > It sounds like a good idea to me. > > /Roger -- Laura L. Carlson
Received on Sunday, 6 December 2009 23:06:53 UTC