Re: Technology independent techniques for GL 3.1 L3 SC3

<becky original>
>         Provide a separate page that lists acronyms and abbreviations 
> within the content, and provide the appropriate expansions.  This is
> most appropriate when the acronyms and abbreviations used within the
> content  relate to a specific discipline or technology area. 
</becky end>

<jens response>
CMIIW, but is it possible that we did not specify yet how such a page 
should
be referenced (no reference at all, using a regular hyperlink, using the
"link" element...)? And, it seems that explaining acronyms and 
abbreviations
behind each term (in brackets, for example) or using the "title" attribute
is considered no alternative, which I suspect to be at least 
"questionable"?
</jens response>

<becky response>
True, but this is meant to be a general technique. The details you suggest 
would go into HTML specific techniques.  There is an HTML specific 
technique for how to associate a glossary page using the <link> statement. 
 I personally think an example of creating a standard <anchor> link is too 
generic for an html technique.   While using the title attribute may not 
seem like the best way to identify an abbreviation, it does technically 
meet the guideline since the information can be programmatically 
determined.  I'm not sure how much we detail we should go into within the 
guide doc about the different choices. For example, abbr isn't supported 
in IE - the title is not displayed as a tool tip when you hover over it 
with the mouse.  Thus, having an abbr doesn't help a sighted mouse user to 
find the expansion.   But, manually expanding every occurrence of the 
abbreviation may make the document more difficult to read for people with 
learning disabilities or people using a screen magnifier.   It is all a 
matter of knowing the dominant audience, I guess. 
</becky>

Becky Gibson
Web Accessibility Architect
                                                       
IBM Emerging Internet Technologies
5 Technology Park Drive
Westford, MA 01886
Voice: 978 399-6101; t/l 333-6101
Email: gibsonb@us.ibm.com

Received on Monday, 12 September 2005 20:45:53 UTC