On Prompt/Notify/Advise/Alert

Hello,

Checkpoint 3.8 in the 18 August Guidelines [1] includes the
sentence "Advise the user to refresh content according to 
the same schedule as the automatic refresh, and indicate 
when the user has not yet refreshed content." The
term "prompt" appears in checkpoints 9.2 and 1.5. The terms
"alert" and "notification" are used in checkpoint 1.5.

I propose the following:

1) That we only use the term "notify" in the checkpoints and
   that we define it to mean "inform the user through the user
   interface". Note that I do not talk about APIs here. That
   is a separate requirement (that messages through the UI also
   be available through an API).

2) That "notify" be independent of a particular mechanism
   in the user interface (but that any notification be
   accessible).

3) That the term "prompt" be reserved for a particular
   UI approach, but that we don't attempt to define it!
   I would note that the AU Guidelines [2] includes a definition 
   of prompt, but since then, that WG has had a number of discussions
   on the definition (refer to [3], [4], [5], and [6] at least).

4) In checkpoint 3.8, rewrite the sentence cited above to
   be "Notify the user ..."

5) We could rewrite checkpoint 9.2 to not use the word prompt:

     Allow configuration so the user can confirm any form 
     submission not caused by explicit activation of a 
     form submit control.

   Otherwise, if we intend to use prompt to mean "the user
   must intervene before anything else happens", we should
   define it to mean that. I want to avoid having to
   define it.

6) What techniques, if any, do we need for notification or
   configuration of notification in general?

   a) Configuration to have no notification.
   b) Configuration to prompt the user and require input
      before continuing.
   c) Configuration to notify the user but without requiring
      any input from the user.

 - Ian   

[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-UAAG10-20000818/
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-ATAG10-20000203/
[3] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-au/2000AprJun/0199.html
[4] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-au/2000AprJun/0168.html
[5] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-au/2000AprJun/0073.html
[6] http://www.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-au/2000AprJun/0080.html

-- 
Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel:                         +1 831 457-2842
Cell:                        +1 917 450-8783

Received on Sunday, 27 August 2000 19:38:20 UTC