Edit comment LC-764 for Accessibility Guidelines Working Group

Quick access to LC-468 LC-477 LC-521 LC-522 LC-523 LC-524 LC-553 LC-554 LC-555 LC-557 LC-560 LC-577 LC-578 LC-589 LC-600 LC-656 LC-665 LC-666 LC-667 LC-668 LC-669 LC-670 LC-671 LC-672 LC-673 LC-674 LC-675 LC-676 LC-677 LC-678 LC-679 LC-680 LC-682 LC-688 LC-690 LC-695 LC-698 LC-699 LC-700 LC-701 LC-702 LC-703 LC-704 LC-705 LC-706 LC-707 LC-709 LC-710 LC-711 LC-763 LC-764 LC-765 LC-766 LC-767 LC-768 LC-769 LC-770 LC-772 LC-773 LC-774 LC-775 LC-776 LC-777 LC-778 LC-779 LC-780 LC-781 LC-821 LC-834 LC-1050 LC-1383 LC-1384 LC-1385 LC-1386 LC-1387 LC-1388 LC-1389 LC-1390 LC-1391 LC-1392 LC-1393 LC-1394 LC-1395 LC-1396 LC-1397 LC-1398 LC-1399 LC-1400 LC-1401 LC-1402 LC-1403 LC-1404 LC-1518 LC-1519

Comment LC-764

Comment Shortname:

Commenter: Joe Clark 3 <joeclark@joeclark.org>

Message-id:

Section of the document concerned:

[Free text description]Document as a whole1.Common Failures F1: Failure of SC 1.3.3 due to changing the meaning of content bypositioning information with CSS F2: Failure of SC 1.3.1 and 1.3.4 due to using CSS to create variations inpresentation of text that conveys information without also using the appropriatemarkup or text F3: Failure of SC 1.1.1 due to using CSS to include images that conveyimportant information F4: Failure of SC 2.2.2 due to using text-decoration:blink without amechanism to stop it in less than three seconds F5: Failure of SC 3.1.1 due to using CSS styling to control directionalityin XHTML/HTML F7: Failure of SC 2.2.2 due to an object or applet, such as Java or Flash,that has blinking content without a mechanism to pause the content that blinksfor more than three seconds F8: Failure of SC 1.2.1 due to captions omitting some dialogue or importantsound effects F9: Failure of SC 3.2.5 due to changing the context when the user removesfocus from a form element F10: Failure of SC 2.1.1 due to combining multiple content formats in a waythat traps users inside one format type F12: Failure of SC 2.2.6 due to having a session time-out without a mechanismfor saving user's input and re-establishing that information uponre-authentication F13: Failure of SC 1.3.2 due to having a text alternative that does notinclude information that is conveyed by color in the image F14: Failure of SC 1.3.5 due to identifying content only by its shape orlocation F15: Failure of SC 4.1.2 due to implementing custom controls that do not usean accessibility API for the technology, or do so incompletely F16: Failure of SC 2.2.3 due to including scrolling content where there isnot a mechanism to pause and restart the content F17: Failure of SC 4.1.1 due to insufficient information in DOM to determineone-to-one relationships (e.g., between labels with same id) in HTML F19: Failure of SC 4.2.1 and 4.2.3 due to not providing a method for the userto find the alternative conforming version of a non-conforming Web unit F20: Failure of SC 1.1.1 and 4.1.2 due to not updating text alternatives whenchanges to non-text content occur F22: Failure of SC 3.2.5 due to opening windows that are not requested by theuser F23: Failure of SC 1.4.2 due to playing a sound longer than 3 seconds wherethere is no mechanism to turn it off F24: Failure of SC 1.4.1 due to specifying foreground colors withoutspecifying background colors or vice versa F25: Failure of SC 2.4.3 due to the title of a Web unit not identifying thecontents F26: Failure of SC 1.3.5 due to using a non-text mark alone to conveyinformation F28: Failure of SC 4.1.1 due to using markup that results in inconsistentDOMs in user agents F30: Failure of SC 1.1.1 due to using text alternatives that are notalternatives (e.g. filenames or placeholder text) F31: Failure of SC 3.2.4 due to using two different labels for the samefunction on different pages F32: Failure of SC 1.3.3 due to using white space characters to controlspacing within a word F33: Failure of SC 1.3.1 and 1.3.3 due to using white space characters tocreate multiple columns in plain text content F34: Failure of SC 1.3.1 and 1.3.3 due to using white space characters toformat tables in plain text content F36: Failure of SC 3.2.2 due to automatically submitting a form andpresenting new content without prior warning when the last field in the form isgiven a value F37: Failure of SC 3.2.2 due to launching a new window without prior warningwhen the status of a radio button, check box or select list is changed F38: Failure of SC 1.1.1 due to omitting the alt-attribute for non-textcontent used for decorative purposes only in HTML F39: Failure of SC 1.1.1 due to providing a text alternative that is notnull. (e.g. alt="spacer" or alt="image") for Images that should be ignored by AT F40: Failure of SC 2.2.1 due to using meta redirect with a time-out F41: Failure of SC 2.2.1, 2.2.5, and 3.2.5 due to using meta refresh with atime-out F42: Failure of SC 1.3.1 due to using scripting events to emulate links F43: Failure of SC 1.3.1 due to using structural markup in a way that doesnot represent relationships in the content F44: Failure of SC 2.4.6 due to using tabindex to create a tab order thatdoes not follow relationships and sequences in the content F46: Failure of SC 1.3.1 due to using th elements,caption elements, or non-empty summary attributes inlayout tables F47: Failure of SC 2.2.2 due to using the blink element F48: Failure of SC 1.3.1 due to using the pre element to markuptabular information F49: Failure of SC 1.3.3 due to changing the meaning of content bypositioning information with HTML layout tables F50: Failure of SC 2.2.2 due to a script that causes a blink effect without amechanism to stop the blinking at 3 seconds or less F52: Failure of SC 3.2.1 due to opening a new window as soon as a new page isloaded without prior warning F54: Failure of SC 2.1.1 due to using only pointing-device-specific eventhandlers (including gesture) for a function F55: Failure of SC 2.1.1 due to using script to remove focus when focus isreceived F57: Failure of SC 4.2.1 and 4.2.3 caused by defaulting to non-conformingversion as a result of content negotiation F58: Failure of SC 2.2.1 due to using server-side techniques to automaticallyredirect pages after a time-out F59: Failure of SC 4.1.2 due to using script to make div or span a userinterface control in HTML F60: Failure of SC 3.2.5 due to launching a new window when a user enterstext into an input field F61: Failure of SC 3.2.5 due to complete change of main content through anautomatic update that the user cannot disable from within the content F62: Failure of SC 4.1.1 due to insufficient information in DOM to determinespecific relationships in XML 2.Client-side Scripting Techniques SCR1: Allowing the user to extend the default time-out SCR14: Using scripts to make nonessential alerts optional SCR16: Providing a script that warns the user a time-out is about to expire SCR18: Providing client-side validation and alert SCR19: Using an onchange event on a select element without causing a change ofcontext SCR20: Using both keyboard and other device-specific functions SCR21: Using functions of the Document Object Model (DOM) to add content to a page SCR22: Using scripts to control blinking and stop it in three seconds or less SCR24: Using script to open a new window 3.CSS Techniques C6: Positioning content based on structural markup C9: Using CSS to include decorative images C7: Supplementing link text with hidden text C8: Using CSS letter-spacing to control spacing within a word 4.General Techniques G1: Adding a link at the top of each page that goes directly to the main content area G4: Allowing the content to be paused and restarted from where it was stopped G5: Allowing users to complete an activity without any time limit G7: Associating a title with a Web page G8: Creating an extended audio description for the multimedia content G9: Creating captions for live multimedia G10: Creating components using a technology that supports the accessibilityAPI features of the platforms on which the user agents will be run to expose thenames and roles, allow user-settable properties to be directly set, and providenotification of chang G11: Creating content that blinks for less than 3 seconds G13: Describing what will happen before a change to a form control is made G14: Ensuring that color encoded information is also available in text G15: Ensuring that content does not violate the general flash threshold or red flash threshold G17: Ensuring that luminosity contrast of at least 10:1 exists between textand background behind the text G18: Ensuring that luminosity contrast of at least 5:1 exists between textand background behind the text G19: Ensuring that no component of the content flashes more than three times in any 1-second period G20: Ensuring that the only way to get to an inaccessible version is from a link from the accessible version G21: Ensuring that users are not trapped in content G53: Identifying the purpose of a link using link text combined with link context G54: Including a sign language interpreter in the corner of the video stream G55: Linking to definitions G56: Mixing audio files so that non-speech sounds are at least 20 decibelslower than the speech audio content G57: Ordering the content in a meaningful sequence G58: Placing a link to the transcript immediately next to the non-text content G59: Placing the interactive elements in an order that follows sequences and relationships within the content G60: Playing a sound that turns off automatically within three seconds G61: Presenting repeated components in the same relative order each time theyappear G62: Providing a Glossary G63: Providing a Site Map G64: Providing a Table of Contents G65: Providing a breadcrumb trail G68: Providing a descriptive label that describes the purpose of liveaudio-only and live video-only content G69: Providing a full multimedia text alternative including any interaction G70: Providing a function to search an on-line dictionary G71: Providing a help link on every Web unit G73: Providing a long description in another location with a link to it thatis immediately adjacent to the non-text content G74: Providing a long description in text near the non-text content, with areference to the location of the long description in the short description G75: Providing a mechanism to postpone any updating of content G76: Providing a mechanism to request an update of the content instead ofupdating automatically G78: Providing a sound track that includes audio description G79: Providing a spoken version of the text G80: Providing a submit button to initiate a change of context G81: Providing a synchronized video of the sign language interpreter that canbe displayed in a different viewport or overlaid on the image by the player G82: Providing a text alternative that identifies the purpose of thefunctional non-text content G83: Providing a text message that identifies the field as mandatory G84: Providing a text message when the user provides information that is not in list of allowed values G85: Providing a text message when user input falls outside the required format or values G86: Providing a text summary that requires reading ability less advanced than the upper secondary education level G87: Providing closed captions G88: Providing descriptive titles for Web units G89: Providing expected data format and example G90: Providing keyboard-controllable event handlers G91: Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link G92: Providing long description for non-text content that serves the samepurpose and presents the same information G93: Providing open captions that are embedded directly in the video stream G94: Providing short text alternative for non-text content that serves the same purpose and presents the same information as the non-text content G95: Providing short text alternatives that provide a brief description ofthe non-text content G96: Providing textual identification of items that otherwise rely only on shape and/or position to be understood G97: Providing the abbreviation immediately following the expanded form G98: Providing the ability for the user to review and correct answers before submitting G99: Providing the ability to recover deleted information G100: Providing the accepted name or a descriptive name of the non-textcontent G101: Providing the definition of a word or phrase used in an unusual or restricted way G102: Providing the expansion or explanation of an abbreviation G103: Providing visual illustrations of complex ideas, events, and processes G104: Satisfying all WCAG success criteria at levels 1 and 2 that thetechnology outside the baseline can support G105: Saving data so that it can be used after a user re-authenticates G107: Using "activate" rather than "focus" as a trigger for changes of context G108: Using markup features to expose the name and role, allow user-settable properties to be directly set, and provide notification of changes G110: Using an instant client-side redirect G111: Using color and pattern G112: Using inline definitions G115: Using semantic elements to mark up structure G117: Using text to convey information that is conveyed by variations in presentation of text G120: Providing the pronunciation immediately following the word G121: Linking to pronunciations G122: Including a text cue whenever color cues are used G123: Adding a link at the beginning of a block of repeated content to go to the end of the block G124: Adding links at the top of the page to each area of the content G125: Providing links to navigate to related Web units G126: Providing a list of links to all other Web units G127: Identifying a Web unit's relationship to a larger collection of Web units G128: Indicating current location within navigation bars G130: Providing descriptive headings G131: Providing descriptive labels G133: Providing a checkbox on the first page of a multipart form that allows users to ask for longer session time-out or no session time-out G134: Validating Web units G135: Using the accessibility API features of a technology to expose names androles, to allow user-settable properties to be directly set, and to providenotification of changes G136: Providing a link at the beginning of the nonconforming content that points to an alternate version that does meet WCAG 2.0 Level 1 success criteria G137: Providing a link at the beginning of the nonconforming content that points to an alternate version that does meet WCAG 2.0 Level 2 success criteria 5.HTML Techniques H1: Adding the dir attribute to a block level element to change its directionality H2: Combining adjacent image and text links for the same resource H4: Creating a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects H20: Identifying the purpose of a link using link text and text associated with the parent element of the link H21: Not specifying background color, not specifying text color, and notusing CSS that changes those defaults H24: Providing a text alternative for the area element H25: Providing a title using the title element H27: Providing text and non-text alternatives for object H28: Providing definitions for abbreviations by using the abbr and acronym elements H30: Providing link text that describes the purpose of a link for anchor elements H32: Providing submit buttons H33: Supplementing link text with the title attribute H34: Using a Unicode right-to-left mark (RLM) or left-to-right mark (LRM) to mix text direction inline H35: Using alt attributes on applet elements H36: Using alt attributes on images used as submit buttons H37: Using alt attributes on img elements H39: Using caption elements to associate data table captions with data tables H40: Using definition lists H42: Using h1-h6 to identify headings H43: Using id and headers attributes to associate data cells with header cells in data tables H44: Using label elements to associate text labels with form controls H45: Using longdesc H46: Using noembed with embed H48: Using ol, ul and dl for lists H49: Using semantic markup to mark emphasized or special text H50: Using structural elements to group links H51: Using table markup to present tabular information H52: Using the body of the applet element H53: Using the body of the object element H54: Using the dfn element to identify the defining instance of a word H55: Using the dir attribute of the html element H56: Using the dir attribute on an inline element to resolve problems with nested directional runs H57: Using the lang attribute of the html element H58: Using the lang attribute to identify changes in the natural language H59: Using the link element and navigation tools H60: Using the link element to link to a glossary H62: Using the ruby element H63: Using the scope attribute to associate header cells and data cells in data tables H64: Using the title attribute of the frame element H65: Using the title attribute to identify form controls when the label element cannot be used H67: Using null alt text and no title attribute on img elements for imagesthat AT should ignore H69: Providing Heading elements at the beginning of each section of content H70: Using frame elements to group blocks of repeated material H71: Providing a label for groups of radio buttons or checkboxes using the fieldset and legend elements H72: Using p for paragraphs H73: Using the summary attribute of the table element to give an overview of data tables H74: Ensuring that all id attribute values are unique for the document ANDthat opening and closing tags are used according to specification H75: Ensuring that all id attribute values are unique for the document ANDthat the Web unit is well-formed H76: Using meta refresh to create an instant client-side redirect 6.Server Side Techniques SVR1: Implementing automatic redirects on the server side instead of on theclient side 7.SMIL Techniques SM1: Providing audio descriptions in SMIL 1.0 SM2: Adding extended audio descriptions in SMIL 2.0 SM6: Providing audio descriptions in SMIL 1.0 SM7: Providing audio descriptions in SMIL 2.0 SM11: Providing captions through synchronized text streams in SMIL 1.0 SM12: Providing captions through synchronized text streams in SMIL 2.0 SM13: Providing sign language interpretation through synchronized videostreams in SMIL 1.0 SM14: Providing sign language interpretation through synchronized videostreams in SMIL 2.0 8.Plain Text Techniques T1: Using standard text formatting conventions for paragraphs T2: Using standard text formatting conventions for lists T3: Using standard text formatting conventions for headings
or

Refinement of the section concerned:

Status:

open proposal pending resolved_yes resolved_no resolved_partial other assigned to Nobody Abma, Jake Abou-Zahra, Shadi Allan, Jim Auclair, Christopher Avila, Jonathan Babinszki, Tom Bailey, Bruce Bernard, Renaldo Bernier, Alex Blake, Matthew Boudreau, Denis Brewer, Judy Butler, Shari Campbell, Alastair Carlson, Laura Chakravarthula, Srinivasu Cirrincione, Pietro Conway, Vivienne Cooper, Michael Crutchfield, Elizabeth Deltour, Romain Dick, Wayne Ding, Chaohai Dirks, Kim Dixit, Shwetank Draffan, E.A. Duggin, Alistair Eggert, Eric Elledge, Michael Faulkner, Steve Ferraz, Reinaldo Fiers, Wilco Fischer, Detlev Foliot, John Garrish, Matt Garrison, Alistair Gower, Michael Guarino Reid, Loretta Hakkinen, Markku Haritos-Shea, Katie Henry, Shawn Hoffmann, Thomas Horton, Sarah Isager, Kasper Jensen, Tobias Christian Johansson, Stefan Johlic, Marc Johnson, Rick Jones, Crystal Joys Andersen, Wilhelm Kapoor, Shilpi Keim, Oliver Kirkpatrick, Andrew Kirkwood, John Kiss, Jason Kraft, Maureen Ku, JaEun Kurapati, Sujasree Lauke, Patrick Lauriat, Shawn Lee, Steve Lemon, Gez Li, Alex Li, Kepeng Li, Liangcheng Loiselle, Chris Lowney, Greg Lui, Edwina Lund, Adam Ma, Jia MacDonald, David Mace, Amanda Manser, Erich Martin, Debra McCormack, Scott McMeeking, Chris McSorley, Jan Milliken, Neil Montgomery, Rachael Mueller, Mary Jo nicole, windmann Niemann, Gundula Nurthen, James O Connor, Joshue Oh, Jeong-Hun Panchang, Sailesh Pandhi, Charu Pasi, Aparna Patch, Kimberly Philipp, Melanie Pluke, Mike Pouncey, Ian Repsher, Stephen Rochford, John Runyan, Marla Savva, Andreas Sawczyn, Steve Schnabel, Stefan Seeman-Kestenbaum, Lisa Sims, Glenda Singh, Avneesh Skotkjerra, Stein Erik Sloan, David Smith, Alan Smith, Jim Solomon, Adam Spellman, Jeanne F Strobbe, Christophe Suprock, Greg Swallow, David Thompson, Kenneth Thyme, Anne Ueki, Makoto Vaishnav, Jatin Vanderheiden, Gregg Venkata, Manoj Wahlbin, Kathleen Wang, Can WANG, WEI White, Jason Zelmanowicz, Erica Zerner, Adam Zhang, Mengni

Type: substantive editorial typo question general comment undefined

Resolution status:

Response drafted Resolution implemented Reply sent to commenter

Response status:

No response from Commenter yet Commenter approved disposition Commenter objected to disposition
Commenter's response (URI):

Comment:

Comment (including rationale for any proposed change):

From http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-comments-wcag20/2006May/0121

Text equivalents

alt="" "" is officially permitted alongside the actually correct alt="""".

Proposed Change:

Related issues: (space separated ids)

WG Notes: [TEAMC] [] H67 was discussed at the 9 March 2006 telecon. F38 was surveyed for 26 January teleconference (http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/2006-01-26-text-equiv/results#xnotnull) but I can see no record that it was discussed so I suspect it was referred back to Team A. John raised an objection to alt=" " in the survey. In the wiki page on this technique (http://tinyurl.com/got59), John's comment isn't even mentioned. The edited technique was surveyed again on 16 March (http://tinyurl.com/ya3szs) and John accepted it without changes. F39 was discussed at the 30 March 2006 telecon and accepted with edits. Looking for the survey. Discussed in the 08 February 2007 telecon: Resolution: LC-764 closed with unanimous consent http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2007/02/08-wai-wcag-minutes.html

Resolution: Yes, whitespace alt is permitted because there are situations in which it is desirable to have a space in the text version of the Web page where the image is located, for instance to act as a separator between words that in some designs would otherwise run together in the text version. To our knowledge, assistive technologies treat whitespace and null alternative text equivalently, and this is known to be a widespread practice that we do not have the justification to limit. However, we do recommend the use of null alt text preferentially, which is mentioned in the applicable techniques H67, F38 and F39.

(Please make sure the resolution is adapted for public consumption)