Re: Accesskey again

Tantek Çelik wrote:
> Note that this discussion began as an errata for HTML 4.01 - this important
> detail was somehow lost.
> 
> I assert that for an errata, the additional "MUST" requirement is
> inappropriate and out of scope.  I suggest the following:
> 
> Errata for HTML4.01:
> 
>  A user agent SHOULD just focus when an accesskey is used.
>  A user agent MAY supply a user option to choose between focus and
>   focus+activate.

I can also live with that.

> Text for XHTML2:
> 
>  A user agent SHOULD just focus when an accesskey is used.
>  A user agent SHOULD supply a user option to choose between focus and
>   focus+activate.

I mentioned in previous emails that I think additional work is
required on accesskeys. I think the above is inadequate for XHTML2,
and that, for instance, it would be helpful to distinguish 
navigation stops from activation short cuts.

> The reason for using SHOULD for the user option instead of MUST is due to
> the fact that it may be very inappropriate for certain devices to have to
> provide that configuration option.
> 
> In fact, there are "standalone" UAs, such as web kiosks that don't have ANY
> configuration options at all.
> 
> There will also likely be XHTML Basic UAs which do not even connect to the
> traditional web, but are instead embedded inside a device and there only for
> a special purpose, having nothing to do with the web.
> 
> Thus, in general the XHTML spec is the WRONG place user interface
> requirements upon the UA.

I also disagree with that assertion, though I understand what you 
are saying. My experience with the UAAG 1.0 is that too many specs 
don't say enough about user interface requirements. I would much
rather UAAG 1.0 requirements appear in format specs (where 
developers may actually read them!) than in a different spec. User 
interface requirements are hard to make, but they need to be real 
close to the other requirements of the format spec.

  _ Ian

-- 
Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel:                     +1 718 260-9447

Received on Wednesday, 27 November 2002 11:34:03 UTC