RE: Click here - proving the issue to co-workers

> OK, I know that this is not really an accessibility issue per se,
> more a usability issue, but it illustrates why the use of click
> here benefits no one except the designer/developer of the
> website.

Except of course that to my thinking usability IS accessibility, and vice
versa.  To me, to be truly accessible your <foo> must also be usable, as
accessibility is more than just making web pages available to the blind (or
the paralyzed, or the deaf, or those with cognitive disabilities, etc.,
etc., etc.).

Lynn originally asked how can she make co-workers understand that the
repeated use of "Click Here" presents accessibility issues (and by my
definition usability issues).  As the thread developed, it's clear that the
context of the link is important, especially to screen reading technology
(Al broke it down effectively), but also in the context of other
non-standard uses (the print-it-out example).

Lynn, I have installed the Microsoft Web Accessories for Internet Explorer 5
"tools" onto my machine for testing purposes.  One of the things it allows
you to do is to visit a page in IE, "right click" and view a list of links
in a seperate popped up window.  The accessibilty of popped up windows
aside, it provides nothing more than a list of all of the links on any given
web page.  So if one of your co-workers has authored a page with a bunch of
"Click Here" hyperlinks, the reult will be a list of "Click Here"'s with no
other explanation.  Showing them what screen reading technology hears
(encounters) may in fact persuade them to mend their ways.

The last time I checked, these "tools" may be found at:
www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/previous/webaccess/ie5wa.asp

Hope this helps.

JF

Received on Saturday, 10 August 2002 13:57:18 UTC