RE: WCAG1 10.3

Actually, as I recall the history it was argued that since tables could be
linearised (at the time by running lynx, which was readily available) this
wasn't so critical as it had been when first proposed.

Although there are people (like me) who think that using tables to lay out
columns is pretty much anathema to using HTML correctly, it is a common
parctice, so screen reader developers have worked hard to try and make it
possible to understand such content. In many cases the problems are now not
so great for screen reader users as they are for visual users.

Either way, I don't think it meets the WCAG 1.0 criteria to be listed as a P1
checkpoint. The use of tools such as tablin, which were designed for
providing general transformation of tables, would significantly improve the
problem, and if these features were more widely available in browsers
directly it would more or less go away.

Note that the problems with reading tables also apply to real tabular data.

cheers

chaals

On Tue, 29 Jan 2002 gian@stanleymilford.com.au wrote:

  This used to be a Priority 2 checkpoint, and with the advances of
  screen-readers it was moved to a higher level.
   
  This checkpoint was written for those screen-readers that cannot read
  cell to cell and only read left to right, regardless of columns or rows.
  Newer screen-readers read cell to cell.

Received on Tuesday, 29 January 2002 06:48:26 UTC