- From: Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
- Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 10:36:42 -0500
- To: Denis Anson <danson@miseri.edu>
- CC: Jon Gunderson <jongund@staff.uiuc.edu>, w3c-wai-ua@w3.org, jbrewer@w3.org
Denis Anson wrote: > > Ian, > > I agree that we can't keep someone from doing things wrong. But a broad > guideline that says that the user interface should be accessible via > standard AT devices would at least allow us to say that a developer *has* > done it wrong. People complain when the checkpoints are vague and too broad. I propose instead non-normative text to that effect. Such as: The topic of accessible user interfaces exceeds the scope of this document; user interfaces must be intuitive, simple, and tested. This document does address aspects of user interface that directly impact accessibility, including device-independence, accessible product documentation, and configurability. > If we ignore the user interface, or say that that is not our > mandate, then it is possible to have a completely compliant browser that is > also completely inaccessible to one or more groups with disabilities, > because they have no access to the control structure of the brow We cannot guarantee accessibility with this document, however strong the priorities, checkpoint language, or conformance statement. A UA *could* comply with these guidelines and be inaccessible, but that's less likely if the document represents the broad knowledge of the working group members. A UA could also not comply with these guidelines and still be accessible. While there are no guarantees, I think that the more focused the document remains - on content - the more effective it will be in promoting accessible UAs. Perhaps the UA charter needs clarification about the scope of the guidelines. > I don't suggest that we get into the minutia of the user interface. I do > suggest that we require standard system calls and AT interfaces where they > exist. I believe we already do that in several checkpoints of section 6.2 of [1]. - Ian [1] http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-19981112/ -- Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org) Tel/Fax: (212) 684-1814 http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Received on Tuesday, 9 February 1999 10:37:04 UTC