Re: Taking another round at @summary

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 10:24 AM, Denis Boudreau
<dboudreau@webconforme.com> wrote:
> Even if another mechanism was provided to replace @summary, we're still
> removing something that is useful to a lot of AT users today.

Really? Do you have data showing that is the case? All the data I have
seen indicates that @summary is used extremely rarely, and when it is,
it's often used in the wrong way.

> Why not simply
> add a new mechanism and keep a new-and-improved @summary safe and sound in
> HTML5?



> As a responsible member of this working group, why should I sign a blank
> check on something as important as this when I have no garantee that this
> new mechanism - that we have yet to envision - will do any better
> than @summary already does?

It seems to me that the WAI already has come up with a better
solution: aria-describedby. This attribute has two advantages:

1. It encourages the description to be visual to all users, not just
users of AT tools. While still allowing the description to be only
visual to AT users when that is desired by the page author.
2. It can be applied to all elements, not just tables.

This attribute is already supported in HTML5.

/ Jonas

Received on Tuesday, 5 January 2010 21:55:42 UTC