Re: Meta Refresh (was Re: Proposal: 2.4 rewording)

On Thursday 14 June 2001 08:31, Charles McCathieNevile wrote:
> The responsibility of the author is to do things "the right way", and there
> are things that screen readers do handle properly. For example, using HTTP
> redirects instead of http-equiv in a meta element.

My contention was that HTTP redirects are "the right way", and that meta 
refresh redirects were introducing unnecessary obstacles to accessibility 
_given_ _currently_ _deployed_ _UAs._  If I'm not misunderstanding you, you 
just said something very similar.

> But there are things over which the author has no control, such as whether
> someone is using a browser that just doesn't work.

I would love it (from a designer's perspective) if I could say "all users of 
NS4 go hang; you need to get a better browser".  NS4 emphatically doesn't 
work, in its handling of all sorts of valid markup and style.  But I can't 
ignore that a lot of people are still using it:  many people are resistant to 
embracing the MS monopoly but are unaware of alternatives (Opera, iCab, 
Konqueror, etc.).  And if I design pages that don't work in NS4, those pages 
aren't accessible, regardless of how many WCAG checkpoints they meet.

> And WCAG 2 doesn't assume all "until user agents"
> clauses have been met, but last time we discussed the topic there was an
> agreement that things would either be phrased as requirements, or not.

That's good.  I never cared much for the "until user agents" clauses; they 
introduced too much ambiguity.

-- 
Thanasis Kinias
Vice President & Manager of Information Systems
Optimal LLC
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA

Received on Thursday, 14 June 2001 11:50:42 UTC