Comments on: HTML 5, microformats and testing accessibility

By: bruce

bruce — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 08:37:38 +0000

Thanks Laura.

I like this sentence from the WAI/ PFWG statement:

Some commentors have suggested that in order to sustain a small language there have to be some screening factors, and frequency of use in the as-is Web is the screening factor to use.

The WAI position on this is roughly “that is like saying that the builder of a high-rise building should decide whether or not to include fire-stairs based on whether the previous buildings at that street address had burned down or not.”

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 16:41:58 +0000

On May 27, I asked for advice from WAI and the PFWG on the “headers” issue:
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2007May/1208.html

This is their resulting statement:
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2007Jun/0145.html

Then as the editor requested,
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2007Jun/0003.html

I put together an issues page in the HTML 5 working group’s wiki on the subject.
http://esw.w3.org/topic/HTML/IssueTableHeaders

By: alan bowers

alan bowers — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:25:50 +0000

HTML 5 authors follow a double standard. They claim that the spec is driven by the real world and what current browsers are capable of rendering. Then, they completely ignore the capabilities of screen readers and other assistive technology. The Web is not just for Web browsers!

But the biggest problem with HTML 5 is not fixing the accessibility flaws of HTML 4. Specifically support for numbered headings that nobody uses correctly. Mr Hickson, don’t be afraid to borrow a little from XHTML 2. Don’t worry, you won’t get contaminated.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:42:57 +0000

Nice work, Steve. Let’s hope Mr Hickson takes it into account.

By: steve faulkner

steve faulkner — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 13:15:43 +0000

Hi bruce,
I joined the HTML WG last week to comment on the headers issue primarily. I have been doing some testing with JAWS and Window Eyes to see if the headers attribute is supported JAWS 6.2 test http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2007Jun/0072.html and Window Eyes 6.0 test http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2007Jun/0114.html

The tests indicate that for complex irregular data tables, JAWS and Window Eyes make use of id/headers to correctly interpret the headers associated with a data cell, whereas the scope attribute in this case was not up to the job.

By: Ted Drake

Ted Drake — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:36:26 +0000

Headers and summary are two attributes that suffer horribly from ignorance. I strongly feel that they’d be used more often if most programmers actually knew they existed.

The table summary is an especially helpful attribute for screen readers.

Here’s an example of a complicated set of tables on Yahoo! Tech that use headers to make a product comparison grid usable for screen readers. It uses the headers and summary attributes.

I built this page originally. It wasn’t easy but I feel the result was worth the effort.