Re: responsive design and breakpoints and layout changes

Sounds like a User Agent/Browser issue, not something the web authors 
should be responsible for.

But I agree there should be some best practices and guidelines for 
accessibility with respect to responsive design - especially in the area 
of what the browser should be handling for them and guideloines for users 
on what to expect from the browsers.  For example, if the user zooms to 
200%, do I get/want scroll bars or responsive design?  I just think it is 
more easily solved in the relatively few browser that trying to educate 
the thousands (millions?) of developers.  I agree it honestly seems like 
responsive design is the wild wild west where for many developers, all 
that matters is that it works for their eyes on the devices they happen to 
own - like guidelines and training are going to fix that . . . 

___________
Regards,
Phill Jenkins
Check out the new system for requesting an IBM product Accessibility 
Conformance Report VPAT® at  able.ibm.com/request
Senior Engineer & Accessibility Executive
IBM Research Accessibility




From:   "Michael A. Peters" <mpeters@domblogger.net>
To:     w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Date:   01/04/2018 02:54 PM
Subject:        responsive design and breakpoints and layout changes



In recent years, I frequently finding myself needing to increase the 
size of web pages to see things on them.

On my desktop I often zoom to 120% and on my laptop to 140%.

This increases the number of physical pixels on the display relative to 
the CSS pixels, and usually it works well.

Sometimes though it causes the design to change, responsive design, 
which unfortunately then sometimes in a decrease in the size of images.

It's like they use 33% of the screen if X CSS pixels are available but 
only 25% of the screen if less than X CSS pixels are available, 
resulting in the opposite of what I want.

In my own playing, it seems like what they are likely doing is making 
their responsive design relative to max-width rather than 
max-device-width.

It seems the former changes design relative to what CSS pixels are 
available to the viewport to avoid side-scrolling at all cost, while the 
latter sets the design to the device and if you zoom to the point where 
side-scrolling is necessary, that's your choice that you have a reason 
to do.

Obviously I prefer needing to side scroll from time to time if it means 
I can adequately see the image, I don't want things like images to 
shrink just because I tried to make them bigger.

Is anyone working on guidelines for accessibility with respect to 
responsive design? It honestly seems like responsive design is the wild 
wild west where for many developers, all that matters is that it works 
for their eyes on the devices they happen to own.