Re: Proposed definition of prompt

This doesn't really look like a definition - more of an explanation. I am not
sure how it would work, but in any event, I would suggest the following edit:

  Prompt:

In this document "prompt" is used as a verb meaning to urge, suggest and
encourage.  Prompting is thus more than checking, correcting, and providing
help and documentation as encompassed in guidelines 4, 5, 6, and is something
that does not depend on the author, but is initiated by the tool.

The form and timing that prompting takes can be user configurable.

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I would cut the following text out, although the information should be in the
explanatory text of guidelines 3 and 4.

The goal of prompting the author 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.

Prompting should be implemented in such a way that it causes a positive
disposition and awareness on the part of the author toward accessible
authoring practices.

-----------------
This leaves a problem of not really defining what a prompt is - it becomes
relative to what the developer has done to satisfy the requirements of
guideline 4,5,6 - in short, it rewards people for only minimally satisfying
them, since that lowers the bar for satisfying 3.1.

Charles McCN



On Tue, 30 May 2000, Jutta Treviranus wrote:

  Here is the proposed definition of prompt. It incorporates what we 
  have agreed upon. Please comment and edit:
  
  Prompt:
  In this document "prompt" does not refer to the narrow software sense 
  of a "prompt," rather it is used as a verb meaning to urge, suggest 
  and encourage. The form and timing that this prompting takes can be 
  user configurable. "Prompting" does not depend upon the author to 
  seek out the support but is initiated by the tool. "Prompting" is 
  more than checking, correcting, and providing help and documentation 
  as encompassed in guidelines 4, 5, 6. The goal of prompting the 
  author 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. Prompting should be 
  implemented in such a way that it causes a positive disposition and 
  awareness on the part of the author toward accessible authoring 
  practices.
  
  Jutta
  

--
Charles McCathieNevile    mailto:charles@w3.org    phone: +61 (0) 409 134 136
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative                      http://www.w3.org/WAI
Location: I-cubed, 110 Victoria Street, Carlton VIC 3053
Postal: GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne 3001,  Australia

Received on Wednesday, 31 May 2000 12:47:17 UTC