Re: MATF Minutes 25 April 2019 - notes on instructions for custom gestures

On 26/04/2019 10:30, Detlev Fischer wrote:
[...]
> The context is that 2.5.1 and 2.5.4 already mandate alternatives for 
> such custom gestures so if swiping is the *only* way to reveal 
> functionality, the screen would fail (arguably it would not fail if file 
> / delete / forward etc. are available once you select a single message).

Which is the case for Google Mail. So those swipe gestures are, in 
essence, shortcuts for power users, rather than *only* way to trigger an 
action.

[...]

> The question remains what valid way to instruct users about the 
> functionality would be appropriate. An initial primer when downloading / 
> first launching the app might help some, annoy others, and be of not 
> much help to people with memory issues (or simply to anyone who intently 
> or accidentally dismisses any start-up content delaying first use of an 
> app - I would count myself a member of that group).
 >
> A repeat instruction on *every* use (SR accessible, visible) seems quite 
> obnoxious for what is a utility app that is used daily, many times.
> 
> Visual indications via icons migh do the trick for sighted users but the 
> more innocuous they are, the more likely they are to be ignored in which 
> case they will not prevent accidental input errors. They would arguably 
> need to be focusable / have a meaningful accName for non-visual users, 
> adding many extra focus stops and probably annoying the heck out of 
> repeat users. OK, there may be options to hide instructions but who 
> likes delving into your apps settings? How many will do that? There may 
> be options to disable app-side motion actuation and complex swipe 
> gestures altogether, and these would likely be the preferred by users 
> prone to accidentally performing gestures in a way that leads to 
> unintended results.
> 
> So this would point to a once-shown-after-first-launch type of message 
> saying something like "you can use swipe on messages to reveal options 
> OR disable this in the app settings". Apart from that, 2.5.1 and 2.5.2 
> should take care that there are alternative ways for activating stuff 
> and undoing accidental things happening after down-event (start of 
> swiping). Having explicit / visible and SR-accessible instructions 
> around each time you use an app seems to me a bit of a non-starter.

To me, these options (requiring that there be some sort of 
help/instructions page, a triggerable tutorial, or even an actual icon) 
also feel like they're quite prescriptive in terms of 
design/layout/structure for sites. Noting that this SC will likely fail 
the vast majority of existing content out there that does implement 
custom gestures / motion functionality of this kind. For these two 
reasons, this feels more like a AAA than a AA to me, as otherwise this 
will get a LOT of pushback from implementers.

P
-- 
Patrick H. Lauke

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Received on Friday, 26 April 2019 11:43:14 UTC