RE: SC #78 'Adapting text', and a question regarding consensus on icon fonts

Ø  Here's the current thinking around icon font accessibility

Ø  http://fontawesome.io/accessibility/


As I’ve said before on this list and github this does not reflect the full current opinion on icon accessibility because it does not take into account the low vision users and other user’s needs to change fonts.  This is an article that primarily focuses on the needs of one user group – people using screen readers.  People using screen readers are a small percentage of people with disabilities using the web.

Any SC we have on adapting text must require authors to mark icon fonts in such a way that user styles can safely leave those fonts untouched.  Without such a mechanism users can’t safely change the font and I consider that a violation for WCAG 2.1.

Jonathan
From: David MacDonald [mailto:david100@sympatico.ca]
Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2017 9:51 AM
To: Alastair Campbell
Cc: Detlev Fischer; w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
Subject: Re: SC #78 'Adapting text', and a question regarding consensus on icon fonts

Here's the current thinking around icon font accessibility

http://fontawesome.io/accessibility/

Are these icons going to disappear if the font family is over ridden by a user style sheet?



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David MacDonald



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On Thu, Apr 20, 2017 at 6:06 AM, Alastair Campbell <acampbell@nomensa.com<mailto:acampbell@nomensa.com>> wrote:
Detlev wrote:
> So would this basically be a technique *for users* who would have to update any custom stylesheets they may be using by working in this exception for elements with role=img?

Yes, but it has to work both ways, this would also be a sufficient technique for the new SC. I.e. if you use font icons that are problematic when fonts are replaced, then it musts be marked up appropriately.

It would also need to be included as something in the testing text (understanding doc), and recommended for user-agent side solutions.

>  I guess there is nothing authors can do to safely exempt icon fonts from any manipulation by user style sheets that fail to cater for icon fonts this way, correct?

Correct, but if this is a known thing included in the techniques and understanding document, there is a viable solution.

Cheers,

-Alastair