Draft: Text Alternative for CAPTCHA Survey

Purpose

The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback on how text alternatives for CAPTCHAs should be addressed in HTML5.

Background Info

This survey is associated with HTML ISSUE-31: missing alt and is a part of the Change Proposal: Replace img Guidance for Conformance Checkers. Two text alternative bugs (9216 and 9169) regarding CAPTCHA have been filed in an effort to expedite the Change Proposal. The Change Proposal was drafted to help implement the WAI CG’s text alternative consensus recommendations.

Possible CAPTCHA text alternative solutions were brainstormed on the accessibility task force mailing list.

WCAG 2 on CAPTCHA

WCAG 2 States:

If the purpose of non-text content is to confirm that content is being accessed by a person rather than a computer, then text alternatives that identify and describe the purpose of the non-text content are provided, and alternative forms of CAPTCHA using output modes for different types of sensory perception are provided to accommodate different disabilities.

Source: WCAG Guideline 1.1

Two WCAG 2.0 Techniques documents exist: G143 and G144.

HTML5 on CAPTCHA

HTML5 States:

Sometimes the entire point of the image is that a textual description is not available, and the user is to provide the description. For instance, the point of a CAPTCHA image is to see if the user can literally read the graphic. Here is one way to mark up a CAPTCHA (note the title attribute):

<p><label>What does this image say?
<img src="captcha.cgi?id=8934" title="CAPTCHA">
<input type=text name=captcha></label>
(If you cannot see the image, you can use an <a
href="audio">audio</a> test instead.)</p>

Source: HTML5: "Images whose contents are not known"

Questions

A text alternative for the CAPTCHA example is missing in HTML 5.

What should be done? Please rate possible solutions:

Spec Text Solutions

1. Delete the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec. Instead state, "Don't use CAPTCHAs".

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

2. Delete the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec. Say nothing about CAPTCHA in HTML5.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

3. Delete the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec. Instead refer authors to WCAG 2.0 for guidance.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

4. Delete the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec. Instead refer authors to HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives where the editor is willing to expand on the CAPTCHA example, explain CAPTCHA's inaccessibility, and provide advice on how to make CAPTCHA as accessible as possible if it is used.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

5. Improve the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec so that it is in line with WCAG 2.0.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

6. Improve the CAPTCHA example and accompanying text in the HTML spec so that they are in line with both WCAG 2.0 and HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

7. Make no change to the CAPTCHA example in HTML5. Leave the text as it currently is in the spec.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details:

New Feature Solutions

1. Provide a "captcha" role on img to give user agents and assistive technologies a chance to call internal or cloud-based CAPTCHA solving systems like Webvisum, and validation/evaluation tools to mark them as an accessibility issue.

• Strongly agree. I would actively work to champion this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)
• Agree. I could live with this.
• Neutral. I will accept the consensus of the task force.

• Disagree. I could not live with this.
• Strongly disagree. I would actively work against this. (Please detail how in the comment box.)

Comments/Rationale/Details: