Re: "to urge, suggest or dictate"

Jutta Treviranus wrote:
> We have general agreement that:
> - ... "prompt" ... is used as a verb with the Oxford dictionary
> meaning of "To urge, suggest, or dictate (a thing); to inspire, give
> rise to (thought, action)."

JR: agreed.

> - the form and timing of the prompt can be user configurable

JR: agreed.

> - equivalent text deserves special support within the authoring tool...

JR: agreed.

> Beyond the implementation details the sticking points we can't reach
> agreement on are:
> - whether the prompt requires author response or requests author response

JR: Part of this issue is the question, "what counts as a response?". 
Some seem to be arguing that this must be a one issue notice of some
kind with a dismiss button of some sort (i.e. OK or Cancel). I would
argue that displaying multiple issue dialog boxes, such as a properties
dialog with emphasis on the missing field, counts because the user is
responding to all the requests when they close the box.  This is not
perfect, but it is far preferable to an annoying single issue box that
can be quickly and permanently disabled.

> - whether the prompt must occur within the same authoring session

JR: I think this will be cleared up once we decide what a prompt can
be.  For example, if (for sake of argument) a warning on a save dialog
box or displaying a properties dialog whenever an image inserted,
regardless of method, count as prompting, then this issue will be a mute
point. 

> - whether the prompting must be on by default

JR: This is not a black or white issue.  Instead of being "on" or "off",
I think that configurability allows us to talk in terms of interface
visibility.  Personally, I think that the accessibility features should
be required to have some visibility (toolbar, menus, help, dialogs) by
default, even if more active reminders are not enabled.


> The general goal of the guideline is to:
> - encourage, urge and support the author in creating meaningful
> equivalent text without causing frustration that may cause the author
> to turn off access options
> - cause a positive disposition and awareness on the part of the
> author toward accessible authoring practices.

JR: Agreed.

Cheers,
Jan

-- 
Jan Richards
Access Software Designer
Adaptive Technology Resource Centre
University of Toronto
(416) 946-7060

jan.richards@utoronto.ca
janrichards@yahoo.co.uk (when travelling)

Received on Wednesday, 24 May 2000 16:04:45 UTC