Re: horizontal scrolling -> uni-directional scrolling ?

On 02/08/2016 22:42, Shawn Henry wrote:
> [CC: EOWG, LVTF -- fyi, some recent coverage
> <https://www.w3.org/TR/css-writing-modes-3/>]

sorry i didn't find time to deal with this. I'll clear the decks now and 
attempt a reply.

> We could use help with wording of an accessibility issue in a way that
> addresses internationalization situations - specifically, different
> writing-modes/scripts.
>
> First, if it is best for me to send this to a list &/or if you have
> suggestions for other individuals to check with, please let me know. :-)

it's usually best to send to www-international, or if you feel the need 
to slightly restrict the visibility to public-i18n-core.

what follows is my personal view.

> Summary: We talk about not making users scroll horizontally to read
> blocks of text -- particularly when users increase text size. However, I
> think that phrasing applies for right-to-left and left-to-right
> scripts/writing-modes, but not to top-to-bottom.
>
> Would you be able to suggest wording that covers all writing-modes --
> and is not more complex than needed to be appropriate for the situation?
> Note that different levels of technical accuracy and comprehensiveness
> are needed below.
>
> Issue in context:
>
> 1. "When text is changed, no information or functionality should be
> lost, the text should re-flow, and users shouldn't have to scroll
> horizontally to read sentences."
> <https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/customizable.html>
> * This is an informative resources, *not* any kinds of specification,
> and simplicity is much more important than technical accuracy to cover
> all situations.
> * Perhaps it is OK as is, or with minor addition?
>
> 2. "For many people, with and without disabilities, it is difficult to
> read when they have to scroll back and forth to read a line of text.
> When people with low vision increase the text size and the text doesn't
> “reflow”, they sometimes have to scroll horizontally several screens to
> read a single line of text. Additionally, the scrollbar and cursor is
> harder to find for some. Getting from the end of a line of text,
> scrolling back left, and then finding the beginning of the next line can
> take considerable attention. This degrades reading flow and
> comprehension, sometimes significantly enough that effective reading is
> not possible when horizontal scrolling is required.
> User Need - Rewrap: Blocks of text rewrap so that only one direction of
> scrolling is needed, e.g., for left-right and right-left scripts
> (languages), usually vertical scrolling and not horizontal scrolling."
> <https://www.w3.org/TR/2016/WD-low-vision-needs-20160317/#rewrap-for-one-direction-scrolling>
>
> * This is a User Needs document planned to be a Note, not a
> specification. It doesn't need to be technical accurate to cover all
> situations -- although it would be good to generally cover most cases.
> * Maybe this is OK as is since the first paragraph is just an example,
> and the actual "User Need" covers both with "only one direction of
> scrolling is needed"?
>
> 3. "For many people, with and without disabilities, it is more difficult
> to read when they have to scroll from the bottom of a column of text to
> the top of another column. For some people with low vision, with
> multiple columns, they have to scroll up several screens to get from the
> bottom of one column to the top of the next. Additionally, the scrollbar
> and cursor is harder to find for some. Getting from the bottom of a
> column and finding the top of the next column can take considerable
> attention. This degrades reading flow and comprehension, sometimes
> significantly.
> User Need - Reflow: Users can set blocks of text in one continuous
> block, instead of in multiple columns."
> <https://www.w3.org/TR/2016/WD-low-vision-needs-20160317/#reflow-to-single-column>
>
> *[same as #2]
>
> 4. "Text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent
> in a way that does not require the user to scroll horizontally to read a
> line of text on a full-screen window."
> <https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#visual-audio-contrast-visual-presentation>
> * We plan to propose new wording to better address this issue in an
> upcoming version of WCAG.
> * This is in a /TR/ and needs to be technical accurate to cover all
> situations.
> * Maybe we can say: "does not require users to scroll both horizontally
> and vertically to read a block of text"?
>
> Thanks for any input you can provide!

i think you hit on the head what i was thinking when you said "Blocks of 
text rewrap so that only one direction of scrolling is needed".  It's 
the fact that people have to scroll in both directions that seems to be 
causing the problem.

so maybe:

1. "When text is changed, no information or functionality should be 
lost, the text should re-flow, and users shouldn't have to scroll in 
more than one direction to read sentences."

2. "... This degrades reading flow and comprehension, sometimes 
significantly enough that effective reading is not possible when 
two-dimensional scrolling is required.
User Need - Rewrap: Blocks of text rewrap so that only one direction of 
scrolling is needed, e.g., for languages written in scripts with 
horizontally set lines, usually vertical scrolling and not horizontal 
scrolling. Vice versa for languages written using vertically set text."

3. is reasonably worded except for the assumption that columns always 
run top to bottom.  In vertically set text columns run left to right 
(Mongolian) or right to left (Chinese/japanese). Maybe just add another 
sentence to the end of the explanation saying "Similar principles apply 
for vertically set writing, where columns run horizontally."

4. "Text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent 
in a way that does not require the user to scroll in more than one 
direction to read a block of text on a full-screen window."

hope that helps,
ri

Received on Friday, 2 September 2016 17:16:48 UTC