Re: Do icons fall under - 1.3.3 question for shapes/icons alone that are used everywhere now but were not back in 2008

gregg

> On Apr 20, 2016, at 12:18 PM, Patrick H. Lauke <redux@splintered.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> On 20/04/2016 18:21, Gregg Vanderheiden RTF wrote:
>> that should be covered by 1.1.1
>> 
>>  * Icons are images
>>  * and the ALT text for them should be their FUNCTION (not what they
>>    look like)
>>  * Pointing to them (or moving focus to them) should show the meaning
> 
> But this is not required anywhere in WCAG 2, right?

bullets one and two are in WCAG

bullet 3 is part of browser behavior — or could be done with a browser plug in. 

> And I know older browsers used to always show alt attribute of images as a tooltip when moving the mouse over them

yes this was very helpful and a big loss. 

> , but this isn't the case anymore, and image-based icons nowadays are more likely to be implemented using CSS background images, icon fonts, SVG anyway…

It doesnt matter how the image gets onto the page — 1.1.1 REQUIRES that it have text equivalent. 


> so you'd really need to set an explicit title attribute (and THEN ensure that some alternative tooltip is also shown for keyboard-only users, as - with exception of Microsoft Edge - still no browser deigns to show a title tooltip on keyboard focus).

Now you are getting into technique land.    WCAG defines what needs to be true — but does not prescribe any one way of doing it. 

> 
> In short, a sighted user basically has to rely on the latter, some form of additional plugin/extension, as per:
> 
>>  * A plug in AT (or other AT) can expose the label without having to
>>    focus on them.

Correct.  Just like blind users need to rely on some sort of screen reader.  

WCAG makes sure the content is or can be made accessible by the user with their tools. 

> 
> 
> P
> -- 
> Patrick H. Lauke
> 
> www.splintered.co.uk | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
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>