RE: ARIA roles added to the a element should be conforming in HTML5.

I'd like to see the conformance checker algorithm code that can decide if <a> has been erroneously used instead of <button> in a form- like element grouping ...

Sometimes you can just appeal to obey standards .. and if they were "violated", ARIA is a mean for correction afterwards. Great for maintenance of older code. But for new development, Ian is probably right.

- Stefan

From: wai-xtech-request@w3.org [mailto:wai-xtech-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Steven Faulkner
Sent: Mittwoch, 21. Oktober 2009 12:13
To: Ian Hickson
Cc: HTMLWG WG; W3C WAI-XTECH
Subject: Re: ARIA roles added to the a element should be conforming in HTML5.

Hi ian,

> <snipping> the example stuff as the discussion is not about what
> developers _should_ do, its about what developers _can_ and _do_.

>Conformance is about what developers _should_ do, however.

I agree, but developers are allowed to add behaviours and styles that turn a link into a button and they won't get nagged when they check the conformance of the code, but adding a role will result in  a conformance error. Easy way to get rid of it is to remove the ARIA role, what results in a conforming, but less accessible ineterface control. seems like the goal conformance is wrong if this occurs.

If the point of conformance is about what devlopers _should_  do then developers need to be told their code is non conforming regardless of the presence of ARIA.

regards
Stevef

2009/10/21 Ian Hickson <ian@hixie.ch<mailto:ian@hixie.ch>>
On Wed, 21 Oct 2009, Steven Faulkner wrote:
>
> <snipping> the example stuff as the discussion is not about what
> developers _should_ do, its about what developers _can_ and _do_.
Conformance is about what developers _should_ do, however.

--
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with regards

Steve Faulkner
Technical Director - TPG Europe
Director - Web Accessibility Tools Consortium

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