- From: Sailesh Panchang <sailesh.panchang@deque.com>
- Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:40:26 -0400
- To: "'Phil Spencer'" <phil.spencer@digforfiredmg.co.uk>, "'Jon Gunderson'" <jongund@illinois.edu>, "'T.V Raman'" <raman@google.com>, "'Jonas Sicking'" <jonas@sicking.cc>
- Cc: "'Steven Faulkner'" <faulkner.steve@gmail.com>, <mjs@apple.com>, <public-html@w3.org>, <wai-xtech@w3.org>
>But it is often bad HTML in so far as it is not semantically correct, e.g. >Making a custom button from a bunch of divs when you could use a more >semantically appropriate element such as <button>. That isn't an intended >use of HTML? > Or maybe they currently "can't" because you can't style a button >enough to give it the desired rendering. >This is exactly one of the reasons why ARIA was invented .. in artwork for >web development, function follows form and not vice versa. This lesson is >hard to learn, I know. Sailesh: The solution then is to enhance the styling capabilities available to authors. Overriding the native role of elements by using complex JS and CSS is like re-inventing the wheel or creating more work for oneself. >ARIA is also to end up discussions like "ok .. manual says "press the >button there". Which button? My AT announces 'link'". Sailesh:At the end of the day after all that "work" what does one have? A link or div or image coded and made to look like a button when one could have simply used the button element or INPUT type=img and gone on to accomplish far greater things in the day. Sailesh Panchang >I wish there was no need for ARIA. I wish in a future version of HTML there >would be a full range of fully css style-able controls, and when someone >thinks of a new piece of UI, if it can't be achieved semantically it is >submitted to the HTML WG and they mandate it for a future release rather >than developers hacking it up out of divs and script. >I rather idealistically feel that accessibility should be built in, not >tacked on afterward with ARIA or anything else, but we all know this >utopian world will never exist.
Received on Thursday, 22 October 2009 13:40:16 UTC