RE: [SEC508] Can AJAX find harmony on agency Web sites?

["Dwight H. Barbour" <dbs@dbsolutions.net>]

I think Don is talking about web standards, since this is for a web
site... which means 1194.22, not 1194.31.



On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 18:26:10 -0400, "Jonathan Avila"
<jon.avila@ssbbartgroup.com> said:
> Don, you say there is no standard to mandate indication of new text? 
> What
> about Section 1194.31A and B?  I think people forget about the functional
> performance criteria and some say they are only applicable if no other
> standards apply.  However, section 31 is applicable all of the time.  If
> a
> person is not able to use E&IT because a limitation that is not addressed
> then I would have concerns about its compliance.
> 
> I also have to disagree with you regarding "Sighted people have to look
> down
> the page" and thus it isn't an issue for visually impaired to read down
> the
> page.  The prime example of this is when a field appears prior on the
> page
> after you perform an action.  Visually this is very obvious but to a
> non-sighted person this is not obvious and would raise red flags for
> compliance under 1194.22L and 1194.31A and B.  This issue is similar to
> the
> skip navigation link issue.  
> 
> Jonathan 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu] On
> Behalf Of Barrett, Don
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 12:58 PM
> To: sec508@trace.wisc.edu
> Subject: RE: [SEC508] Can AJAX find harmony on agency Web sites?
> 
> You are right on the money.  Stand L of 1194.22 is one of the very few
> which
> require screen reader testing since the functionality of text depends
> upon
> which event handlers the screen reader deals with successfully.
> 
> What is probably very controversial in the blindness community is whether
> or
> not a page refresh is required to say something is 508 compliant; I say
> no
> way.  For example, suppose you have an AJAX calculator and you enter
> 45+778
> and hit enter.  Now, the answer appears below the problem, and if you
> arrow
> down, you can read it with no problem, but the screen reader doesn't tell
> you beforehand that the answer is there; in other words, there is no
> refresh
> and no indication that new information has been placed on the screen.  Is
> this a big usability nightmare?  Sure it is; but it is also compliant
> since
> the text is functional if you arrow down the screen.  After all, a
> sighted
> person has to look down the screen in the same way that we have to arrow
> down.
> Some will respond that if you don't know the text has been placed there,
> it
> isn't compliant; not true, the4re is no standard that mandates that the
> screen reader tell you in advance that text has been placed on a page.
> 
> 
> Don Barrett
> Section 508 Coordinator
> U.S. Department of Education
> (202)-205-8245
> don.barrett@ed.gov
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu [mailto:sec508-admin@trace.wisc.edu]
> On Behalf Of Sailesh Panchang
> Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 12:12 PM
> To: sec508@trace.wisc.edu
> Subject: [SEC508] Can AJAX find harmony on agency Web sites?
> 
> With reference to article on accessibility of AJAX apps:
> http://www.fcw.com/article95257-07-17-06-Print&printLayout
> I generally support the view, " code to the standard, not to the screen
> reader,". But how do you reconcile  this to the S508 para (l0 mandate,
> "...
> the information provided by the script shall be identified with
> functional
> text that can be read by assistive technology" ? Ability to use the
> application with At is the final test in this case, is it not?
> 
> Also even many sighted users may be looking at the keyboard as they type
> and
> not realize that AJAX has refreshed a part of the screen.  
> 
> Accessibility issues with DHTML and AJAX are summarized  in the Road-map
> doc
> from PFWG http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/roadmap/DHTMLRoadmap040506.html
> 
> Sailesh Panchang
> Senior Accessibility Engineer
> Deque Systems Inc. (www.deque.com)
> 11180 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite #400,
> Reston VA 20191
> Phone: 703-225-0380 (ext 105)
> E-mail: sailesh.panchang@deque.com
> 
> 
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-- 
  Dwight H. Barbour
  .NET Community Builder
  Section 508 and ASP.NET Educator and Developer
  dbs@dbsolutions.net