Frames [Re: ADA Applies to Web]

Hello Martin,

I'm copying this reply to WAI people, because your point about
labelling frames is important.   From an accessibility point of
view, if you are going to have frames, at least label them clearly
and sensibly.  This should go in the WAI content guidelines.

BTW, couldn't the assistive technology (user agent) treat frames
as separate pages?   I would assert that frames are essentially pages
that can be simultaneously displayed on the screen.  If they
were treated like pages, there'd be no problem with the back button!

Cheers,

John
--
In message  <EASI%2000021016340245@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Martin McCormick
via EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU writes:
>        You raise an interesting point.  Tables are presented
>differently in Lynx than they appear on the screen of a graphical
>browser... [snip]

>        The same goes for frames.  Some sites have this message which
>says something like "Your browser does not support frames.  Get one
>that does," and I like to say, "While you're at it, visualize an end
>to famine and pestilence the world over."  The reality is that lynx may
>not present the same screen view in frames, but one can read a frame
>at a time.  Again, the effect is kind of like the unwrapped tables.
>Some information may be made useless this way, but a lot of things
>will show up just fine.
>
>        Many sites that use frames, however, don't put any useful
>labels on the frames except for generic tags that describe where they
>appear on the screen like "Frame top."  It would be better to have at
>least a word or two such as  "Message from the President" or something
>else to let one know where the  frame is that has the useful material.
>It's just like food cans whose labels are missing.  We know what they
>are, but we don't know what's in them without opening them.
>Fortunately, opening the wrong frame and finding out that there is
>nothing useful in it doesn't spoil anything, but it does waste time.
>...
>Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
>OSU Center for Computing and Information Services Data Communications Group

-- 
Access the word, access the world       Tel/fax +44 20 8742 3170/8715
John Nissen                             Email to jn@tommy.demon.co.uk
Cloudworld Ltd., Chiswick, London, UK   http://www.tommy.demon.co.uk

Received on Saturday, 12 February 2000 13:12:26 UTC