DRAFT of Generalized WCAG Checkpoints

Status

This document is prepared by the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG) to show how more generalized (less HTML-specific) WCAG checkpoints might read. This draft is not based on consensus of the working group nor has it gone through W3C process thus it in no way supercedes the checkpoints in WCAG 1.0. This draft is based on the discussions from the last two WCAG WG teleconferences held on 13 April and 20 April 2000. Also refer to Proposed Checkpoints for WCAG (26 April 2000) by Jason White.

Based on feedback about the application of WCAG 1.0 to emerging XML applications and other Web trends the WCAG WG wants to investigate how more generalized checkpoints might read. Therefore, this draft has been produced.

This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

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Guideline 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.

• Checkpoint 1.1 - Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element [no change]
• Checkpoint 1.2 - For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate into techniques [Was Checkpoint 1.2] - Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map
• Incorporate into new 1.2 [Was Checkpoint 1.3] - Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation
• Incorporate into 1.1 and some "until user agents" section. [Was Checkpoint 1.5] - Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side image map

Guideline 2. Don't rely on color alone.

• Checkpoint 2.1 - Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup
• Checkpoint 2.2 - Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen

Special cases and changes

• Greg Gay suggests a checkpoint that highlights the semantic usefulness of color.

Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly

• Checkpoint 3.1 - Use semantics and structure in accordance with the markup language being used [was: When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images to convey information]
• Checkpoint 3.2 - Create documents that validate to published formal grammars
• Checkpoint 3.3 - Use style sheets to control layout and presentation
• Checkpoint 3.4 - Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate the following into the techniques for 3.1:
  • [Was Checkpoint 3.5] - Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification
  • [Was Checkpoint 3.6] - Mark up lists and list items properly
  • [Was Checkpoint 3.7] - Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation
  • [Was Checkpoint 10.2] - Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels, ensure that the label is properly positioned
  • [Was Checkpoint 12.1] - Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation
• This is a lot to be incorporated into one checkpoint. Should we divide it into two: 1. provide semantics 2. use structure?
• The minutes kept referring to "labeling-type checkpoints should be brought together," I'm not exactly sure what that means.
• There seem to be two types of techniques for this checkpoint: 1. RDF 2. structural/semantic markup such as headings, titles, etc.

Guideline 4. Clarify natural language usage

• Checkpoint 4.1 - Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions)
• Checkpoint 4.2 [was 4.3] - Identify the primary natural language of a document [possibly incorporate into 4.1?]

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate into 3.1 [Was Checkpoint 4.3] - Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where it first occurs

Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully

none.

Special cases and changes

Incorporate all of these into 3.1. Be sure that layout and data tables are not lumped together.

• Checkpoint 5.1 - For data tables, identify row and column headers
• Checkpoint 5.2 - For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells
• Checkpoint 5.3 - Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized
• Checkpoint 5.4 - If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting
• Checkpoint 5.5 - Provide summaries for tables
• Checkpoint 5.6 - Provide abbreviations for header labels

Guideline 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully

• Checkpoint 6.1 - Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. [Will need to be generalized to deal with XML applications, however no proposed rewording yet. ]
• Checkpoint 6.2 - Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. [Clarification needed.]
• Checkpoint 6.3 - Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported.[ Keep it, but needs clarification.]

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate into 8.1 [Was Checkpoint 6.4] - For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent
• Incorporate into 6.1 and 8.1 [Was Checkpoint 6.5] - Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page

Guideline 7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes

• Checkpoint 7.1 - Until user agents allow users to control movement (flickering, blinking, moving content) avoid causing movement.
• Checkpoint 7.2 Until user agents provide the ability to stop page refresh (including auto-redirect), avoid automatic-refresh.
• Checkpoint 7.3 [Was 10.1] - Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user

Special cases and changes

• Checkpoint 7.1 combines the following 3 checkpoints into one. Note that there is an issue with priority as well as the "until user agents" clause that need to be discussed.
  • Checkpoint 7.1 - Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the screen to flicker.
  • Checkpoint 7.2 - Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content to blink
  • Checkpoint 7.3 - Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement in pages
• Checkpoint 7.2 combines the following 2 checkpoints into one. Note that there is an issue with the "until user agents" clause that needs to be discussed.
  • Checkpoint 7.4 - Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not create periodically auto-refreshing pages
  • Checkpoint 7.5 - Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use markup to redirect pages automatically

Guideline 8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces

• Checkpoint 8.1 - Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies

Special cases and changes

• Need to clarify. Refer to recent IG thread "Seeking Guidance."
• Incorporate [Was Checkpoint 9.2] - Ensure that any element that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner.
• Incorporate [Was Checkpoint 9.3] - For scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers.
• Point to the UAAG - where there is a user interface conform to the user interface requirements UAAG.

Guideline 9. Design for device-independence

• Checkpoint 9.1 - Provide logical navigation among elements.
• Checkpoint 9.2 - Provide keyboard shortcuts to key elements.

Special cases and changes

• 9.1 Was Checkpoint 9.4 - Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects.
• 9.2 Was Checkpoint 9.5 - Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links, form controls, and groups of form controls

Guideline 10. Use interim solutions

• Checkpoint 10.1 - Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns [was 10.3]
• Checkpoint 10.2 - Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas [was 10.4]
• Checkpoint 10.3 - Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links [was 10.5]

Special cases and changes

• Old Checkpoint 10.1 is the new 7.3
• Old Checkpoint 10.2 incorporated into 3.1.
• New 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3 - Not sure how to deal with the Until user agent clauses on these items. These are very HTML oriented and some generalization should happen but there is no proposal yet.

Guideline 11. Use W3C technologies and guidelines

This should probably be reworded along the lines of "Use accessible languages and guidelines" to agree with the generalizing of the checkpoints

• Checkpoint 11.1 Ensure that markup languages used to markup content conform to XML accessibility guidelines
• Checkpoint 11.2 - Avoid deprecated features of languages
• Checkpoint 11.3 - Provide information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences [this begins to touch on server-side issues...flag!]
• Checkpoint 11.4 - If, after best efforts, you cannot create accessible content, provide alternative content that is accessible, has equivalent information or functionality, and is updated as often as the inaccessible content [Note that when this is reworded like this it sounds a lot like 1.1. It also sounds similar to 11.3 in that it would allow BBC Betsie and other database driven or server-side scripting to generate content on the fly!!]
• 11.5 When one is creating XHTML/XML applications one should use schemas [new checkpoint - this is taken from the minutes based on a suggestion from Gregory Rosmaita. I think it needs clarifying and perhaps falls under the new checkpoint 11.1]

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate as technique into new 11.1. Using W3C technologies is the easy "gimme" to satisfy this checkpoint [Was Checkpoint 11.1] - Use W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported
• Checkpoint 11.2 Used to say, "Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies" is it safe to assume that all XML languages will have deprecated features?
• Checkpoint 11.4 used to read, "If, after best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page that uses W3C technologies, is accessible, has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible (original) page"

Guideline 12. Provide context and orientation information

• Checkpoint 12.1 - Describe the relationships between elements
• Checkpoint 12.3 - Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate [is this part of structure? semantics? can we separate them?]

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate into new 12.1
  • [Was Checkpoint 12.2] - Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone
  • [Was Checkpoint 12.4] - Associate labels explicitly with their controls
  • [Was Checkpoint 13.2] - Provide metadata to add semantic information to pages and sites
• Relationships could be described in RDF or explicitly stated via structure (as in associating labels with controls. Therefore:

Guideline 13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms

• Checkpoint 13.1 - Clearly identify the target of each link [Note. server-side image map issue could fall into this one]
• Checkpoint 13.2 - Provide information about the organization of the site
• Checkpoint 13.4 - Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner
• Checkpoint 13.5 - Provide navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism
• Checkpoint 13.6 - Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group
• Checkpoint 13.7 - If search functions are provided, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences
• Checkpoint 13.8 - Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc
• Checkpoint 13.9 - Provide information about document collections
• Checkpoint 13.10 - Provide a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art

Special cases and changes

• Incorporate into 13.1 as a special case/Technique [Was Checkpoint 9.1] - Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. [This is also partly covered by 1.1 and 3.1.
• Incorporate Checkpoint 13.2 in with 12.1
• 13.2 Was: Checkpoint 13.3 - Provide information about the general layout of a site

Guideline 14. Ensure that documents are clear and simple

• Checkpoint 14.1 - Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content
• Checkpoint 14.2 - Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page
• Checkpoint 14.3 - Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages

$Date: 2000/06/06 21:27:00 $ Wendy Chisholma