the Q element and WCAG2

this is a reaction to a thread on the w3c-wai-gl emailing list,
which starts at (long URI warning)
[http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-gl/2006JulSep/0124.html]

although this thread began on a specific list (the guidelines
group's list, to be precise) i am addressing this post to ALL
WAI working groups via the XTECH list, as the issue of use
of the Q element to denote actual quotations is a
cross-working group matter...

in the post cited above, david macdonald wrote:

quote
I think we can easily address that concern. We introduce a failure technique
that says:

Failure: placing spaces between quotation marks and the text they are
surrounding.

Then we could use Cynthia's suggestion, and make using quotation marks a
sufficient way to mark up quotations, *and* we could make sufficient
technique that says using the <Q> element with CSS would be another way
to meet the SC.
unquote

i can hardly believe that such an idea - that use of Q is optional
and use of punctuation marks acceptable - is gaining momentum on
the w3c-wai-gl list...  we shouldn't be advising authors to use hacks
such as character entities to denote quotations - the Q element exists
for a very valid reason beyond formatting - in particular, it allows an
author to place a quote in context by linking directly to a placeholder
in a document...

the Q element is more than merely a textual marker which replaces
the character entity &#34; or actual quotation marks - it is an
element which can provide REAL context for the quoted text thanks
to its attributes -- attributes that vastly contribute to the
comprehensibility of related documents, entire web sites, hypertext
or XML presentations, and online curricula:

the promise of hypertext has always been that it would revolutionize
the way individuals - especially individuals who cannot process
printed material - read documents...   the Q element does this by
allowing the author to provide extra information below the surface -
such as hyperlinks - which the reader can choose to take advantage
of or ignore at his or her choice...

the cite attribute of the Q element allows an author to specify a URI
for the source of the quote without cluttering up the page - enhancing
both the readability of the document containing the Q element and
the ease of comprehension of the document by placing it in exact
context by hyperlinking directly to the location in the original document
from which the quote was taken...

moreover, quotation marks aren't always used strictly for
quotations - for example, a word or phrase may be encased in
quotation marks to emphasize a certain word or phrase, as in:

Finally, everything was back to &#34;normal&#34;.

quotes are also employed to denote emphasis, euphemism,
and slash or ironic intent, as in the headline:

Kane Found in Love Nest with "Dancer"

THIS is where one would use character-entities to create the
desired punctuation effect (opening and closing quotes)

thus, the Q element makes clear that what's being dealt with is
an actual quotation - which makes the Q element both a logical
AND a semantically meaningful element....

an author might want to style the quoted text as italic or bold, or in
different colors, by a font change, etc., instead of using quotation
marks...  of course, this should and would be controlled by use of
CSS, but styling alone -- especially if embedded in a SPAN element
-- cannot convey to the user a vital item of important information:
namely, that this segment of text encased in the Q element is an
actual quotation; thus, if the Q element is dropped, WCAG will have
to be amended to REQUIRE quotation marks around quotations, which
is a rotten idea because it would unnecessarily restrict an author's
stylistic freedom...  therefore, use of the Q element fits the needs and
wants of both the author and the user: the author can style the
contents of a Q in whatever way pleases him or fits in with the "look
and feel" (there's another false quotation) of the resource, while the
vital information that what is contained in the Q container it is an
actual quotation is never lost...

if Q isn't widely implemented, then isn't it the duty of ALL WAI
working groups to promote, support, encourage - even demand -
that it be implemented, through both our combined guidelines and
our own practice, thereby providing the Education & Outreach
group fodder with which to ensure that it will be implemented?

likewise, screen reader and other AT developers who produce
applications which can access information from the DOM, MUST
be urged to enable exposure of the Q element

Q could even be even more useful if an attribute was added that
allowed an author to embed a "normal" citation information,
such as

src="Tolkein, The Two Towers, chapter 3, paragraph 22"

as well as the URI...

please WCAG, don't throw Q out with the bathwater,
gregory.

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Received on Thursday, 24 August 2006 16:31:41 UTC