Re: [WebAIM] Color of link text

Great point Patrick

There are devices that do have HOVER (detect finger near screen)  — but not all devices do - and we can’t assume that they all will any time soon  (or perhaps not all ever). 

So great reminder on this. 

gregg

> On Jul 10, 2016, at 10:53 AM, Patrick H. Lauke <redux@splintered.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Taking a step back, though, note that: for touch (WITHOUT AT) users, there is no hover, so hover can't be used to provide additional hints that something's a link.
> 
> While for touch (WITHOUT AT) links do receive focus, this only happens when they've been tapped/activated, which is of course too late (at that point, the user already worked out something's a link, OR they accidentally tapped not knowing it was a link, so either way the link is already being followed).
> 
> For touch+AT users, AT like TalkBack, VoiceOver, Narrator force an additional strong focus indicator by default. While adding an extra :focus style for links won't hurt, note that not all browsers in the touch+AT scenario actually fire focus/apply :focus styles when receiving the touch+AT focus (see https://patrickhlauke.github.io/touch/tests/results/#mobile-tablet-touchscreen-assistive-technology-events for the JS events, but the situation is the same for application of CSS :focus styles).
> 
> For nominally "mobile" devices (phones, tablets) with paired external mouse or keyboard, the behavior is the same as for desktop equivalents, so G183 applies unchanged.
> 
> In short, I'd say we should add a note to G183 saying that it does NOT apply to touchscreen input (without AT), since there's generally no concept of hover for touchscreen devices, and that focus is applied only after the user initiated an interaction/activation.
> 
> P
> 
> On 10/07/2016 15:04, Jonathan Avila wrote:
>> FYI a thread we should consider if we have not already.
>> 
>> Forward from WebAIM list about discussion of technique G183 that we may want to consider.  That is the G183 assume focus and hover states are available to distinguish links from text without just luminosity -- but on mobile touch and hover may not be available and thus differentiation with more than luminosity may be needed.
>> 
>> Jonathan
>> 
>> Jonathan Avila
>> Chief Accessibility Officer
>> SSB BART Group
>> jon.avila@ssbbartgroup.com
>> 703.637.8957 (Office)
>> 
>> Visit us online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin | Blog
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>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto:webaim-forum-bounces@list.webaim.org] On Behalf Of Guy Hickling
>> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2016 8:09 PM
>> To: webaim-forum@list.webaim.org
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Color of link text
>> 
>> I think the solution for mobiles is easy enough. It just needs a media query, as used in responsive development, to detect small screens (everything from tablet size or less) and have it underline all links on them. (As usual we can except those links, such as menu options, that have other clear indication of them being links.) The query would
>> be:
>> 
>> @media all and (max-width: 1000px) {
>>   a:link, a:visited { text-decoration : underline } }
>> 
>> The difficulty might be getting everyone to accept and apply this as a necessary part of accessibility even though not specified in the WCAG.
>> Really, G183 ought to be rewritten to include a requirement for links to be underlined, in their unvisited and visited states, on anything with a screen small enough that it is likely to be a tablet or mobile.
>> And it could include an example with a media query like the above.
>> That way underline-hating designers can have their wicked way on desktops but, being allowed that, maybe they wouldn't mind quite so much if underlines appear on their mobile designs!
>> 
>> I realise of course that there is a somewhat blurred boundary in screen sizes between tablets and desktops, so the above 1000px is necessarily very arbitrary. But this approach would cater for the vast majority of touch screen devices. I've pitched the figure quite high as it would be better to have underlines appear on a few small desktops rather than no underlining on many larger touch screens.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Guy Hickling
>> http://www.enigmaticweb.com
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Patrick H. Lauke
> 
> www.splintered.co.uk | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
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>