Edit comment LC-2657 for Accessibility Guidelines Working Group

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Comment LC-2657: Comment Shortname:; Commenter: Olaf Drümmer <o.druemmer@callassoftware.com>; Message-id:; Section of the document concerned:

or; Refinement of the section concerned:; Status:
assigned to; Type:; Comment:
[This email has been submitted as a comment on the July 27, 2012 draft of "Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies"]

In a number of scenarios it can be envisioned that accessibility and usability do not coincide, for example where a software sends out "information" to the user in a concurrent manner, possibly leading to information overflow which can only be kept at bay by reducing the amount of information and boiling it down to the most essential aspects. Thus for example, color, shape or blinking/movement could be used to steer attention to the currently most relevant information. It may be next to impossible to make that incarnation of that software accessible at the same time, and it may rather have to be rewritten (or another mode of operation may have to be implemented), to make it 'accessible' (but maybe not nice / efficient to use anymore for other users). Typically it will have to be asked what kind of user is using the software for what purpose / tasks (does software that controls a nuclear power plant really have to be accessible?).

In a nutshell:
make the connection between accessibility and usability, and take usage context and purpose/tasks into account.

Olaf; Related issues: (space separated ids); WG Notes: Are there any other SC where our additional text can be considered usability related? First sentense to be modified according to text from the charter.; Proposed Resolution: The aim of WCAG2ICT is to develop informative guidance on how to apply WCAG 2.0 success criteria to non-web ICT. WCAG 2.0 success criteria already include a number usability considerations. Further, the WCAG2ICT provides additional notes and guidance where necessary. For example, success criteria 1.4.4 and 2.1.2 have additional notes clarifying the intent. With regard to blinking to draw attention, we note that there is nothing in the WCAG success criteria that prevents the use of color or blinking to draw attention. It simply requires that after three seconds the content stop blinking. This allows the technique to be used to attract attention but then stops the attention grabbing activity so that it does not distract from continuing use of the page.; (Please make sure the resolution is adapted for public consumption)