Re: Add Character Key Shortcuts to Editor's Draft

Hi Jason, Josh,

Two things :

First, solving the single-key shortcut problem by not forwarding 
dictated text doesn't work for people who have mobility issues and might 
accidentally hit single character shortcuts. Other user groups will 
benefit from the ability to turn off or change single character 
shortcuts too.

Second, I can say from long experience with speech recognition as my 
main and for a time my only means of input (Kurzweil, ViaVoice, the 
original DragonDictate, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, MacSpeech Dictate, Mac 
Dragon, Windows Speech Recognition, and native Mac speech recognition) 
that this not a good path to go down. Whenever a speech input company 
has tried to limit areas that the user can send keystrokes by speech, 
users have been frustrated because it's too hard to anticipate what 
users will want to do. It’s too prescriptive and limiting (I previously 
mentioned the example of speech users being frustrated because they 
couldn’t use Dragon’s spell command to go through menus several steps at 
once). It is important to let speech users do anything the keyboard user 
can do.

Letting speech users do anything the keyboard user can do generally 
works really well – with the exception of single character shortcuts. 
This proposed solution - to allow the user to turn off or change the 
shortcuts – is intuitive. I've had many users ask me how to turn off or 
change single-character shortcuts. I have a good answer for them if it's 
Gmail or WordPress. Not so much if it's Twitter.

I think it would cause a bigger problem trying to solve this one by 
taking away the ability for users to do anything a keyboard user can do. 
If I can change single-character shortcuts I can use the changed 
shortcuts or call them in speech macros. If Dragon decides for me that 
my means of input should ignore these I can’t get to them at all. Here’s 
a use case: I need to be able to test anything on my computer using 
speech input – including single key shortcuts that are good for keyboard 
users. I just need the ability to control them – to turn them off when 
I'm not testing, or even better to change them to something more 
appropriate for the mix of input I use on the computer.

Jason – I'm happy to talk about this by email or phone if you need more 
information or want to talk further.

Cheers,
Kim

On 6/7/2017 9:25 AM, Joshue O Connor wrote:
> Thanks for the vote Jason. In your comment you mention:
>
>> If the user interface control that has focus (including its role) can 
>> be "programmatically determined", then speech recognition systems can 
>> implement a policy of not forwarding dictated text (e.g., as 
>> simulated keystrokes) to the browser whenever the currently focused 
>> control is not editable text. This working group should investigate 
>> (via horizontal review from the ARIA Working Group or discussion with 
>> speech technology developers, especially those who have implemented 
>> ARIA already) whether platform accessibility APIs can be used, or 
>> adapted, to fill this need.
>
> While I think this may lead to a long wait, especially where the UA 
> would have to add an extra loop of 'listening/distinguishing' between 
> verbal commands that should be handled by the AT vs that which should 
> be ignored. I wonder if the use of a modifier key would help. I don't 
> know if we would have traction with speech AT vendors but in terms of 
> the request for a process/horizontal or at least linking in the APA 
> group for review I think this is reasonable - I'll bring it up at our 
> co-ordination call.
>
> Thanks
>
> Josh
>
> White, Jason J wrote:
>>
>> -1 for the reasons indicated in the survey and at the meeting.
>>
>> *From:* Andrew Kirkpatrick [mailto:akirkpat@adobe.com]
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 6, 2017 11:07 PM
>> *To:* WCAG <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
>> *Subject:* CFC: Add Character Key Shortcuts to Editor's Draft
>> *Importance:* High
>>
>> Call For Consensus — ends Thursday June 8 at 11:00pm Boston time.
>>
>> The Working Group has reviewed and approved a new Success Criterion 
>> for inclusion in the Editor’s Draft: Character Key Shortcuts, at 
>> level AA, with the goal of obtaining additional input external to the 
>> working group.
>>
>> Survey results: 
>> https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/character-key-issue69/results
>>
>> Call minutes: https://www.w3.org/2017/06/06-ag-minutes.html (after 
>> resolution on approval process for understanding documents)
>>
>> The new SC can be reviewed here, in the context of the full draft:
>>
>> https://rawgit.com/w3c/wcag21/single-key-shortcuts_ISSUE-69/guidelines/#character-key-shortcuts
>>
>> If you have concerns about this proposed consensus position that have 
>> not been discussed already and feel that those concerns result in you 
>> “not being able to live with” this decision, please let the group 
>> know before the CfC deadline.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> AWK
>>
>> Andrew Kirkpatrick
>>
>> Group Product Manager, Standards and Accessibility
>>
>> Adobe
>>
>> akirkpat@adobe.com <mailto:akirkpat@adobe.com>
>>
>> http://twitter.com/awkawk
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it may contain privileged 
>> or confidential information. It is solely for use by the individual 
>> for whom it is intended, even if addressed incorrectly. If you 
>> received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender; do not 
>> disclose, copy, distribute, or take any action in reliance on the 
>> contents of this information; and delete it from your system. Any 
>> other use of this e-mail is prohibited.
>>
>>
>> Thank you for your compliance.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -- 
> Joshue O Connor
> Director | InterAccess.ie

-- 
___________________________________________________

Kimberly Patch
President
Redstart Systems
(617) 325-3966
kim@redstartsystems.com <mailto:kim@redstartsystems.com>

www.redstartsystems.com <http://www.redstartsystems.com>
- making speech fly

Blog: Patch on Speech
+Kim Patch
@RedstartSystems
www.linkedin.com/in/kimpatch <http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimpatch>
___________________________________________________