RE: [media] WAI guidelines yield the highest probability of true Web access

I agree with Kely here.  Most of the (graphically intensive) sites that I
have worked on have of course used tables for
layout.  I find that a basic 4 cell table translates very well into a screen
reader since it is in the following order:

1. [top-left cell] Site Name / URL / Company Name
2. [top-right cell] High-Level Links
3. [bottom-left cell] Lower-Level Links
4. [bottom-right cell] Page Content

This works very well in the screen reader I use for testing, IBM Home Page
Reader.
A nice feature of Home Page Reader is that once you have heard a list of
links several times (such as high-level links), it will just skip that block
after you have seen it on a few pages.

Another item on the list, "Go to town with the alt tag" is misleading.
True, you should always use the alt attribute, but it is important to use
alt="" for non-meaningful graphics as opposed to describing them.  As far as
I can tell, no one listening to a web page wants to hear:
  "Spacer Image. Circle Bullet. Spacer Image. Left side of arc..."

When you tell a developer "Always use alt," that isn't enough, you should
always stress using a "Meaningful text equivalent."

-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org]On
Behalf Of Kelly Ford
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2000 2:02 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: [media] WAI guidelines yield the highest probability of
true Web access


Hi All,


>5. Create tables that transform gracefully. Tables for layout equals NO-NO.

When I speak about web accessibility, this is one of the most controversial
issues.  I know this has been talked about here before but it is my
contention that most tables used for layout do transform gracefully in the
web browsing solutions used by people with disabilities and are not a major
impediment to accessibility.

Received on Tuesday, 24 October 2000 15:36:00 UTC