- From: Paul Bohman <paulb@cpd2.usu.edu>
- Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 10:57:28 -0700
- To: "'Andi Snow-Weaver'" <andisnow@us.ibm.com>, <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
The concerns that Joe brought up about simultaneous captions and other visual content are valid concerns. Most of the time, captions can be viewed at the same time as the other events on the screen without too much difficulty, especially with practice. There are some cases where there may be some legitimate conflicts. For example, if the screen shows a lengthy list of sports scores at the same time that a voice in the background is explaining something (and not just reading the text on the screen), this could be difficult to follow. The viewer's attention would be divided between the captions and the other text on the screen. Still, as Joe pointed out, the norm right now for captioning would be to allow the captioning to proceed even if there is a potential visual conflict, requiring the viewer to pay attention to both the captions and the other visual elements simultaneously. It would be difficult for the WAI to require that all broadcasts be adapted from their original format to insert pauses where there may be a conflict with captioning and other visual elements. And it would be impossible to implement such pauses in live broadcasts. In fact, to truly implement this success criterion, directors, actors and script writers would have to change their procedures. The chef (to use the example from the previous message) would have to change her behavior. She would have to make sure that she explains nothing while performing the actions, and that she fully explains the actions either before or after performing them. But, as it stands right now, this is a Level 3 success criterion. Captioners would not be required to implement this technique at either the Minimum level or Level 2. Maybe we are justified in keeping this success criterion based on that fact alone, however... The real question is whether such a technique would be beneficial to users with disabilities. The user group that may benefit most may be those with cognitive disabilities, but this is just a guess. I don't personally know of any research in this area (though it may exist) which suggests that it would be better to not provide captions while something important is happening elsewhere on the screen. If research exists, and if this conclusion is accurate, then it would be wise to keep this success criterion in the guidelines at Level 3. If there is no body of research in that area, or if the research is inconclusive, I would recommend removing the success criterion. I say this because I can imagine one set of experts arguing that it is actually *better* to provide the explanation simultaneously with the demonstration (as in the chef example). I tend to think that it would be better for me if the visual demonstration and the verbal explanation occurred at the same time, even if it does require me to view captions and the visual demonstration simultaneously. I haven't researched this myself. I am only postulating, but if no one else has any solid research either, it may be better to leave this one out of the guidelines. Paul Bohman Technology Coordinator WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) www.webaim.org Center for Persons with Disabilities www.cpd.usu.edu Utah State University www.usu.edu -----Original Message----- From: w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-gl-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Andi Snow-Weaver Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 10:19 AM To: w3c-wai-gl@w3.org Subject: Re: Level 3 success criteria for checkpoint 1.2 (UPDATED per discussion at 11/7 meeting) Amended as per discussion at yesterday's call: Level 3 success criteria 3. The presentation does not require the user to view captions and the visual presentation simultaneously in order to understand the content. and the modified informative example would be... A cooking video shows a chef preparing a recipe. The chef describes the ingredients and the process for each step and then performs the step. In this manner, deaf users can read the voice captions first and then watch the demonstration. Andi andisnow@us.ibm.com IBM Accessibility Center (512) 838-9903, http://www.ibm.com/able Internal Tie Line 678-9903, http://w3.austin.ibm.com/~snsinfo
Received on Friday, 8 November 2002 12:57:33 UTC