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Re: skip navigation, anchor tags, and Netscape

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From: Paul Bohman
Date: Feb 9, 2000 8:38PM

I've had my own frustrations with Netscape. It's less-than-perfect support
for style sheets, for example, has been a bit of a headache for someone like
me who does want to make use of the advantages that style sheets offer.
That doesn't stop me from using them though. Even though I know that my
style sheet pages will probably not look quite as good in Netscape, they
usually don't look too bad. After all, Netscape does support many style
sheet attributes. It's all a part of the concept of allowing your pages to
"degrade gracefully" in less-than-ideal browsers.
It's sometimes easy to forget that Web pages can be viewed on all kinds of
devices: computer monitors, laptops, palm pilots/ other portable devices,
car dashboards, and even refrigerators (yes, they really do make fridges
that can view Web pages!).
Not all of these devices sport the latest, most advanced, or most
feature-rich browsers. The Palm Pilot is mostly text, for example, with some
pixelated images. No javascript. Very small screen. Your pages just don't
look the same on a Palm Pilot as they do on a 19 inch monitor.
And, as you already know, some people never see the web pages at all. Screen
readers don't care what color your text is or how attractive the site is.
They just read what they can.
In a way, web developers have to swallow their pride a little and admit that
not everyone is going to experience their pages in the same way. We just
can't have that kind of control.
On the positive side, someone may be reading your web content on their
wristwatch on an airplane ride over the arctic tundra. That's what universal
design is all about.
Paul Bohman
Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM)
Utah State University
----- Original Message -----
From: Prof Norm Coombs < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: WebAIM accessibility forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2000 7:41 PM
Subject: Re: skip navigation, anchor tags, and Netscape

> Netscape is doing a slow and poor job of implimenting the access features
> of html 4.0. This raises a real question of whether and when to bother
> using these features.
>
> Netscape and Explorer handle various items, not only access items,
> differently. This makes web design much harder than need be.
> Norman
> At 02:45 PM 2/9/00 -0700, you wrote:
> >We encountered an interesting problem when using skip navigation links
and a
> >Netscape browser. If you tab through a page and select the skip nav link
it
> >should take you to the main content (or where ever the anchor tag that
you
> >are pointing to is located). IE manages to correctly use the skip nav,
but
> >when you select the skip nav link in Netscape it takes you to the next
> >sequential link instead of the link following the designated anchor tag.
> >
> >Our theory is that Netscape just does not support anchor tags correctly.
> >
> >Has anyone had similar experience with skip nav or anchor tags?
> >
> >Crystal
> >
> >
> >
>
>