- From: John Foliot <john.foliot@deque.com>
- Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2015 08:59:54 -0500
- To: "'Chaals McCathie Nevile'" <chaals@yandex-team.ru>, "'Ivan Herman'" <ivan@w3.org>
- Cc: "'W3C PF - DPUB Joint Task Force'" <public-dpub-aria@w3.org>, "'Richard Schwerdtfeger'" <schwer@us.ibm.com>, "'PF'" <public-pfwg@w3.org>
Chaals McCathie Nevile wrote: > > If we're minting attribute values, it seems immaterial what the attribute > is called. But using rel for purpose seems to make more sense than multiplying > aria - especially while aria is still regarded by mainstream browsers as "I connect > the aria to the thing in the accessibility API and then it's someone else's problem". Hear, hear! Recently I was involved in a long, protracted discussion regarding whether or not ARIA attributes (could/should/might/may/must-never) have an impact on the UI, with strong and loud responses from the browser vendors that ARIA is *JUST* for the Accessibility APIs. At the risk of stating the obvious, not all people with disabilities use Assistive Technology that is dependent on the A-APIs, and I'd venture to guess that includes many with various types of cognitive disabilities. In fact, my casual reading of the emergent research/recommendations (etc.) coming from the COGA TF is that visual filtering or visual 're-purposing' content is one of the more important requirements - and that's UI changes which the browsers insist ARIA MUST not impact. I love ARIA, and it has made the web significantly more accessible to the blind and low-vision communities, but I fear that with the current mind-set of how ARIA is to be used by mainstream browsers, it will remain a tool for those vision-disability communities only. While I am still on my first coffee, I cannot think of an ARIA attribute today that aids a person with mobility impairments, nor deafness/Hard-of-Hearing, nor, at this time, cognitive impairments. Using (and if necessary 'strengthening') the @rel attribute avoids this ghetto-ization of accessibility accommodation, and I whole-heartedly support pursuing that path over a proliferation of new ARIA attributes. JF -- John Foliot Principal Accessibility Strategist Deque Systems Inc. john.foliot@deque.com Advancing the mission of digital accessibility and inclusion
Received on Friday, 9 October 2015 14:00:31 UTC