Title: Accessibility in Web Permissions
By Janina Sajka, Chair
Accessible Platform Architectures Working Group
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
janina@rednote.net
Date: 20 August 2018
The web has facilitated participation in society and the economy for people with disabilities to a degree undreamt of by pre-web persons with disabilities.
People with disabilities are often early adopters simply because web services are intrinsically vastly superior. This is just another way of restating the above point.
Notwithstanding the above, it is easy to exclude people with disabilities by simply not thinking about them during design and development.
Many users are highly reluctant to participate in online activities that may heuristically reveal that they are a person with a disability.
Revealing the user’s disability may not only be damaging, it may also be irrelevant to the task. But not always. For example, it’s irrelevant when I buy groceries online, but I want my Uber driver to know I won’t see them when they arrive and I need them to identify themselves to me before I can get into their vehicle.
W3C/WAI accessibility specifications form the basis of international web accessibility standards and multiple national regulatory requirements.
WCAG (currently at v. 2.1) https://www.w3.org/WAI/design-develop/ on making U-I and web controls easily understandable, perceivable, operable for people with disabilities.
Keep it simple, relevant and and targeted
Change isn’t always good. Predictable and familiar U-I design and controls are critical for persons with many disabilities, especially cognitive and learning disabilities.
Think about how to facilitate time-out extensions. These are often critical.
Think in terms of multi-party transactions, e.g. authenticate with Google or FaceBook, and ask yourself only for the specifics you need.
Support options for users. A single way of doing things is problematic. Give users options that can change as user needs change.
The https://www.w3.org/wai/ is the home page for accessibility at the W3C.
A WAI Task Force is developing guidance for on how to support the needs of persons with various cognitive and learning disabilities. Publications under development include:
New work is underway to develop specifications and best practices for https://www.w3.org/WAI/ARIA/task-forces/personalization/work-statement.