Re: Animated GIFs and accessibility guidelines

Caution here - stopping the gif also stops the download of the page (at
least in IE and NN) not really an optimum solution.
Marti

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Neff" <robneff@home.com>
To: "IG" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2001 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: Animated GIFs and accessibility guidelines


> adam,
>
> do you have a list of 'how to stop' animated browsers with different web
> browsers?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "ADAM GUASCH-MELENDEZ" <ADAM.GUASCH@EEOC.GOV>
> To: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
> Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 11:52 AM
> Subject: Re: Animated GIFs and accessibility guidelines
>
>
> > Animated GIFs shouldn't be a problem, since they can be stopped by any
> browser that can display them (at least among the major browsers - I'm not
> sure if this is true for WebTV or other "internet appliances").
> >
> > On the Bobby site, listing the sponsors wouldn't be appropriate for the
> ALT text, but would be appropriate for a LONGDESC. The designers may have
> decided that since the image is a link to detailed information about their
> sponsors, that wasn't necessary. I'd say it's a judgement call, and an
> defensible choice. However, running Bobby against that page, in the
Priority
> 1 User Checks it says:
> >
> >    "Do you have a descriptive (D) link in addition to LONGDESC?"
> >
> > which - regardless of conformance with the WAI guidelines - suggests
that
> the site doesn't actually implement what the Bobby designers consider to
be
> "best practices." There are several other areas, such as in the extensive
> use of tables for layout, where the site appears to move away from
> theoretical ideals. On the other hand, the site seems to work, which to me
> is by far the most important concern. The WAI guidelines, are, after all,
> guidelines. They're intended to help people develop accessible sites, but
if
> the focus becomes adherence to every checkpoint, instead of the overall
goal
> of accessibility, they've failed in their purpose.
> >
> > Another question related to that site - they've got a link to skip the
> navigation stuff and go directly to the content, which is great. The link,
> however, is a transparent gif, with the ALT text providing the description
> of how it's to be used. Will screen readers currently in use pick this up
> properly?
> >
> > >>> Brian Kelly <b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk> 02/15/01 04:08AM >>>
> > Guideline 7 at
> > http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/
> > says
> > "Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or
> pages
> > may be paused or stopped."
> > and
> > "Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement
in
> > pages."
> >
> > How does this apply to animated GIFs?
> >
> > Does it apply, for example, to the animated sponsorship ads at, for
> example,
> > http://www.cast.org/bobby/
> >
> > I understood that movement on screens could cause screen readers to lose
> > their focus.  Does this happen with animated GIFs?  If so, is this a
> > concern?
> >
> > Also, while looking at the Bobby page, the alt text for the GIF simply
> says
> > "Scrolling list of sponsors, without mentioning their names (IBM,
> Microsoft,
> > etc.).  Again does this conform to the WAI guidelines?
> >
> > Like Nick, I don't want to pick on the Bobby site or the CAST staff, but
> it
> > is a Web site that those with interests in accessibility will look at.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Brian (hoping this isn't an FAQ)
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > Brian Kelly
> > UKOLN
> > University of Bath
> > BATH
> > BA2 7AY
> > Email: B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk
> > Phone: (+44) 1225 323943
> >
> >
>
>
>

Received on Sunday, 4 March 2001 14:38:37 UTC