RE: Mapping HTML Techniques to WCAG 2.0

Just to explain the thinking on this - it's true that <title> is required by
the HTML spec and that is enough to require it in HTML techniques under
Guideline 4.1 (use valid code). If we thought <title> was important solely
for that reason, we would have mapped it that way, as we did with some other
elements. But we were thinking that, in addition to being part of valid
code, there are specific accessibility benefits of this element. It was for
that reason that we were trying to map to 2.4.1 (facilitating orientation in
content). A parallel situation is the "alt" attribute of <img>. That, too,
is required for conformance to the HTML 4.01 DTD, but it is also important
for accessibility beyond simply that, and so we map that to Guideline 1.1
(text alternatives for non-text objects). 

Perhaps the thing to do is, for those techniques that have an accessibility
benefit beyond simply leading to valid code, we should map those techniques
to the appropropriate guideline/success criterion, as we were trying to do
with <title>. If there is a technique for valid code that does not otherwise
have a specific accessibility benefit we can think of, we should map it to
4.1, or perhaps just have a general technique mapped to 4.1 that says
"validate your code". A current technique that might be an example of this
case is 2.3, the <!DOCTYPE> statement: unless we find that browsers handle
accessibility features of documents differently based on doctype, we might
not see a need to explicitly call out a requirement for it but would expect
that to be captured in the validation process.

Michael

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wendy A Chisholm [mailto:wendy@w3.org]
> Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 3:53 PM
> To: Michael Cooper; WAI GL (E-mail)
> Subject: Re: Mapping HTML Techniques to WCAG 2.0
> 
> 
> I disagree with "The title element: 2.4.1.x - need to create 
> a success 
> criterion"
> Guideline 4.1 says, "use technologies according to spec."  
> "title" is a 
> required element in HTML 4.01 [1], thus html:title must be 
> used and is 
> covered by success criterion/guideline 4.1.
>

Received on Monday, 16 February 2004 09:57:15 UTC