Re: Key bindings... (user agents - was accesskey was ...)

Charles McCathieNevile wrote:

> To the extent that key bindings need to be communicated by the user 
> agent  (which is what ultimately assigns them) to the user, that is 
> covered  already in UAAG. The ability to note that some waypoint in a 
> site happens  to be important is something that has to be covered in 
> the relevant  content specs, it is just that while that markup chosen 
> was reasonable at  the time, at least HTML 4, SMIL 2.1 got their ideas 
> about implementation  horribly wrong. Those specifications make claims 
> about platform-based  implementation that are simply not true, but the 
> model implied was  followed by the implementations in IE and 
> Netscape/Mozilla, which have  proven clearly just how wrong they are.
>
> There are various alternative implementations (iCab, JuicyStudio, 
> Opera,  UBAccess, all spring to mind) that demonstrate that it is 
> possible to make  something useful of the existing markup.
>
> So, IMHO, WCAG is correct to suggest using them, people who have 
> broken  implementations have the ability to fix them using the work of 
> people like  Gez at JuicyStudio or Lisa at UBAccess, manufacturers 
> whose  implementations more or less work like Opera and iCab should 
> document them  better, and manufacturers like Mozilla and Microsoft 
> should do something  about their implementations as well as 
> documentation.
>
> And the HTML and similar groups should leave that bit of markup alone, 
> fix  their specifications, and let us move on to deal with other 
> problems. (And  my good mate John should see the light and stop 
> worrying about the key  attribute so much, in order to concentrate on 
> getting rel right. But he'll  keep on with both, I guess ;)
>
> cheers
>
> Chaals
>


Thanks for that, I'll have to catch up on this a bit more. 

But it still leaves me feeling that even with both similar and differing 
opinions here, how is the average web developer going to be aware of 
these issues, let alone know what is best practice in general, and not 
go hard coding accesskeys into their site.  Unless they are really 
fishing around, they are not going to find this information. :-\ .


---------------
Geoff Deering

Received on Tuesday, 10 January 2006 19:46:42 UTC