Re: Update to 1.4.12 Text Spacing Understanding

Hi Peter,

The SC is scoped to markup languages. The exception is in place.
"Human languages and scripts that do not make use of one or more of
these text style properties in written text can conform using only the
properties that exist for that combination of language and script."

Last November's AG survey results regarding WCAG2ICT and text spacing:
https://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/WCAG2ICT_Update/results#xq9

FYI: A similar question was raised in GitHub Issue 620 but it didn't
call out non-Web ICT.  The AG working group provided the following
official response:

"The SC does apply to all the content, including text within
navigation. It has to, as the scenario behind this SC is that people
over-ride the styling of the website, not that the website has to use
those values by default. That means when people over-ride the styling
of the site with the values from the SC, the text expands, and if
needed wraps without breaking or losing content, including
navigation."
https://github.com/w3c/wcag/issues/620#issuecomment-465806813

Kind Regards,
Laura

On 8/8/19, Korn, Peter <pkorn@lab126.com> wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
> Is there any distinction to be made between “user interface text” and “body
> / content text”?  I’m thinking here of web-apps (and non-Web ICT).  Imagine
> a typical menu “File  Edit  View” etc.  There are no paragraphs of text, or
> even sentences.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter
> --
> Peter Korn | Director, Accessibility | Amazon Lab126
> pkorn@amazon.com
>
> From: Jim Allan <jimallan@tsbvi.edu>
> Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 9:47 AM
> To: WAI-GL <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>, public-low-vision-a11y-tf
> <public-low-vision-a11y-tf@w3.org>
> Subject: Update to 1.4.12 Text Spacing Understanding
> Resent-From: <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
> Resent-Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 9:44 AM
>
> All,
> A few weeks ago LVTF was asked our opinion on 1.4.12 wording change. We
> thought the current wording was fine and that expanding the Understanding
> document would bring some clarity to the issue. Below are the original
> understanding sections followed by the updated sections with changes in
> bold(@). There were some spelling corrections and some deletions. Attached
> is the track changes view in word format.
>
> Intent
>
> The intent of this Success Criterion (SC) is to ensure that people can
> override text spacing to improve their reading experience. Each of the
> requirements stipulated in the SC's four bullets helps ensure text styling
> can be adapted by the user to suit their needs.
>
> This SC focuses on the ability to increase spacing between lines, words,
> letters, and paragraphs. Any combination of these may assist a user with
> effectively reading text. As well, ensuring users can override author
> settings for spacing also signficantly increases the likelihood other style
> preferences can be set by the user. For example, a user may need to change
> to a wider font family than the author has set in order to effectively read
> text.
>
> Author Responsibility
>
> This SC does not dictate that authors must set all their content to the
> specified metrics. Rather, it specifies that an author's content has the
> ability to be set to those metrics without loss of content or functionality.
> The author requirement is both to not interfere with a user's ability to
> override the author settings, and to ensure that content thus modified does
> not break content in the manners shown in figures 1 through 4 in Effects of
> Not Allowing for Spacing Override.
>
> Applicability
>
> If the markup-based technologies being used are capable of overriding text
> to the Success Criterion's metrics, then this SC is applicable. For instance
> Cascading Style Sheet/HTML technologies are quite able to allow for the
> specified spacing metrics. Plugin technologies would need to have a built-in
> ability to modify styles to the specified metrics. Currently, this SC does
> not apply to PDF as it is not implemented using markup.
>
> Examples of text that are typically not affected by style
> properties<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-style-property>
> and not expected to adapt are:
> ·         Video captions embedded directly into the video frames and not
> provided as an associated caption file
> ·         Images of
> text<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-image-of-text>
>
> For this SC,
> canvas<https://www.w3.org/TR/html5/scripting-1.html#the-canvas-element>
> implementations of text are considered to be images of
> text<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-image-of-text>.
>
> User Responsibility
>
> The ability to read and derive meaning from the overridden spacing rests
> with the user. If the increased spacing impacts those abilities, the user
> will adjust or they will return to the default view. Regardless, the user
> needs the flexibility to adjust spacing within the bounds set in the SC.
> Such changes may be acheived via user stylesheet, bookmarklet, extension, or
> application.
>
> -------------
>
> Updated Understanding
> Intent
> The intent of this Success Criterion (SC) is to ensure that people can
> override @author specified@ text spacing to improve their reading
> experience. Each of the requirements stipulated in the SC's four bullets
> helps ensure text styling can be adapted by the user to suit their needs.
> @The specified metrics set a minimum baseline. The values in between the
> author's metrics and the metrics specified in this SC should not have loss
> of content or functionality.@
>
> This SC focuses on the ability to increase spacing between lines, words,
> letters, and paragraphs. Any combination of these may assist a user with
> effectively reading text. As well, ensuring users can override author
> settings for spacing also significantly increases the likelihood other style
> preferences can be set by the user. For example, a user may need to change
> to a wider font family than the author has set in order to effectively read
> text.
>
> Author Responsibility
> This SC does not dictate that authors must set all their content to the
> specified metrics. Rather, it specifies that an author's content has the
> ability to be set to those metrics without loss of content or functionality.
> The author requirement is both to not interfere with a user's ability to
> override the author settings, and to ensure that content thus modified does
> not break content in the manners shown in figures 1 through 4 in Effects of
> Not Allowing for Spacing Override. @The values in the SC are a baseline. We
> want to encourage authors to surpass these, not see them as a ceiling to
> build to. If the user chooses to go beyond the SC’s metrics any resulting
> loss of content or functionality is the users responsibility.@
> Applicability
> If the markup-based technologies being used are capable of overriding text
> to the Success Criterion's metrics, then this SC is applicable. For instance
> Cascading Style Sheet/HTML technologies are quite able to allow for the
> specified spacing metrics. Plugin technologies would need to have a built-in
> ability to modify styles to the specified metrics. Currently, this SC does
> not apply to PDF as it is not implemented using markup.
> Examples of text that are typically not affected by style
> properties<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-style-property>
> and not expected to adapt are:
> •         Video captions embedded directly into the video frames and not
> provided as an associated caption file
> •         Images of
> text<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-image-of-text>
> For this SC,
> canvas<https://www.w3.org/TR/html5/scripting-1.html#the-canvas-element>
> implementations of text are considered to be images of
> text<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/text-spacing.html#dfn-image-of-text>.
>
> User Responsibility
> The ability to read and derive meaning from the overridden spacing rests
> with the user. @The user may choose to exceed the spacing adjustments in the
> SC. If the increased spacing causes loss of content or functionality, the
> user will adjust or return to the author’s original spacing or spacing
> within the bounds of the SC.@ Regardless, the user needs the flexibility to
> adjust spacing within the bounds set in the SC@ without loss of content or
> functionality.@ Such changes may be achieved via user stylesheet,
> bookmarklet, extension, or application.
>
>
> --
> Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator
> Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
> 1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
> voice 512.206.9315    fax: 512.206.9452 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
> "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
>


-- 
Laura L. Carlson

Received on Thursday, 8 August 2019 17:30:24 UTC