Re: 1.4.1 clarification

We've kind of dug ourselves in here on this thread - so let me use your original post and comment on it - including your later questions. 
Gregg
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Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D. 



On Sep 5, 2011, at 5:55 AM, Gavin Thomas wrote:

> I'm having problems assessing against success criteria 1.4.1 Use of color
>  
>  
> The sufficient techniques for the situation I'm evaluating are:
>  
> ·         G14: Ensuring that information conveyed by color differences is also available in text
>  
> ·         H92: Including a text cue for colored form control labels (HTML)
>  
> ·         G182: Ensuring that additional visual cues are available when text color differences are used to convey information
>  
> ·         G183: Using a contrast ratio of 3:1 with surrounding text and providing additional visual cues on focus for links or controls where color alone is used to identify them
>  
>  
> The particular sufficient technique I'm struggling with is
>  
> G183: Using a contrast ratio of 3:1 with surrounding text and providing additional visual cues on focus for links or controls where color alone is used to identify them
>  
> This technique allows a visual cue on focus for links..

GV: Yes.  You can meet 1.4.1 with a visual cue that makes the links appear on focus as long as
the visual cue is NOT color ALONE   (if the only cue is color it clearly fails  SC 1.4.1. )
Note that it would have to change visually with keyboard focus or it would fail 2.1.1
and the link would have to be "visible" to AT to meet 1.3.1 - but that is already true of all links in HTML so you are OK there.

>  
> F73: Failure of Success Criterion 1.4.1 due to creating links that are not visually evident without color vision
>  
>  
> Would fail a link which has a visual cue on focus?

GV: only if the 'visual cue' was a color only cue -- and not some other visual effect.

By the way - red and pink can be the same color but differ in lightness.     If they differ enough then they would qualify just like black and light grey would.  (though you should be careful about contrast between the lighter color and the background (if it were white).  


>  
> Am I missing something?

GV: maybe.  it seems like you are equating "visual cue" with "color".     The failure was only about visual cues that were "color" only.   


Does this help?


RE the rest of the discussion.   


Failures do not determine whether you failed the SC or not.    Only Failing the SC.
The failures are just common things that fail the SC --- that the working group has documented.   So if a failure applies to your content - your content failed because it failed the SC.     If you find a failure that applies to you and you feel that your content meets the SC - then write to us about it.   We may have forgotten a qualifier that should be on the "Failure" we documented.   That is, it might be a failure only some of the time and we need to change it to say when it is a failure. 

Same with Sufficient techniques.

They are ways to meet the SC but they are not required.  there may be other ways as well.   we just documented these to make it easier for people to find techniques that work - and to have more confidence in what they are doing if they are not experts. 

Good luck

Gregg

NOTE:  THESE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS AND WERE NOT REVIEWED BY THE WORKING GROUP.   I AM POSTING THIS TO THE WG LIST AND WILL COMMENT BACK IF I FIND SOMETHING I MISSED OR MISSTATED BY ACCIDENT OR TYPO.