Re: Revising 2.4 to deal with timeout barriers

Adam,

	It would be helpful to cite the URL when describing a situation you wish
to bring  to folks' attention. 

	Also, it's counter productive to write guidelines that suggest eliminating
content used and valued by some in order to accommodate some others. Those
who prefer to use the stuff you want eliminated are more likely to include
the desired content and ignore accessibility if you don't say HOW to
include, instead of to eliminate.

				Anne

At 12:31 AM 5/23/01 -0700, Adam Victor Reed wrote:
>I recently encountered a nasty timeout barrier on a major commercial
>site. After going through several steps in an ordered sequence, I was
>momentarily distracted and encountered a time-out that prevented me
>from continuing, and had to re-start from the beginning of the sequence.
>Our current 2.4 in http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20/WD-WCAG20-20010328.html
>does not deal explicitly with timeouts. It reads
>
>2.4 Give users control over how long they can spend reading or
>interacting with content. Mechanisms that required a timed response
>include:
>	* automatic refresh,
>	* redirection,
>	* flicker,
>	* blinking
>This can be satisfied by providing an option to deactivate automatic
>updating, or to control the rate at which it occurs. User agents may
>also offer control over this effect.  Note that flicker effects can
>cause seizures in people with photoepilepsy.
>
>I would like to propose the following instead:
>
>2.4 Do not place limits on the time that a user may need to
>understand or interact with content.  Eliminate:
>	* demands that the user respond within a preset time
>	* automatic refresh and delayed redirection
>	* flicker, blinking, flashing, self-scrolling, or other
>	  animation effects that cannot be disabled by the user.
>Content must cooperate with user agent mechanisms for preventing
>flicker, or for control of the rate at which it occurs. Note that
>flicker effects can cause seizures in people with photoepilepsy.
>
>--
>				Adam Reed
>				areed2@calstatela.edu
>				 
>Context matters. Seldom does *anything* have only one cause.
>
>
Anne Pemberton
apembert@erols.com

http://www.erols.com/stevepem
http://www.geocities.com/apembert45

Received on Wednesday, 23 May 2001 07:19:02 UTC