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Re: link only saying "click here"

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From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Oct 30, 2014 8:32AM


Hey guys

Whether "click here" is a WCAG 2.4.4 failure all depends on the context.
According to the "understanding 2.4.4" entry on programatically
associated content:

"
This can be achieved by putting the description of the link in the
- same sentence,
- paragraph
- list item,
- table cell
or
- in the table header cell for a link in a data table.
use an ARIA technique to associate additional text on the page with the link.
"
I usually point to this example of using aria-describedby to achieve
this purpose at:
http://oaa-accessibility.org/example/44/

There was a big discussion of whether the previous heading provided
sufficient context for a "click here" link, but I believe the final
(or at least current) decision is that it does not.

I would not be a strong proponent of making it a WCAG violation to use
"click here" if the one of the above conditions is met.
There are many ways to navigate a webpage, some work better than other
depending on the content of the page.
I mean, next we might start saying that link texts should not contain
the word "the" because distinguishing between them in an
alphabetically ordered link list becomes a chore.

I think escriptive and relevant link texts are a good usability, and I
always push for that.
Also if vendors ask specifically to be accessible to screen readers,
this is one practice I would have to strongly point out.
But making it a level A or AA WCAG violation would, I think, cause a
huge pushback and may cause bad rep for the WCAG standard in the eyes
of developers and content providers. They may start thinking that WCAG
is becoming a wish list for screen reader users.

Still, these are all good points, and this is only my personal
opinion, and I have been known to be wrong on occasion or two.
Cheers
-B


On 10/30/14, Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO
< <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I get a message saying it was updated, but I can't find any address to write
> to. What is the address?
>
> Susie Stanzel
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Ryan E. Benson
> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 4:42 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>
> You need to join the W3C WAI mailing list and raise the issue
>
> --
> Ryan E. Benson
>
> On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 2:56 PM, Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO <
> <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
>> Do you know how to get that started? Do you know anyone who could make
>> a difference?
>>
>> Susie
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: <EMAIL REMOVED> [mailto:
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Don Mauck
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 1:27 PM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>>
>> As far as I can tell, you're absolutely correct, I found it under
>> triple A which is never going to happen here. I wonder if we can get
>> this changed through the WC3 group.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Stanzel, Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO [mailto:
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 12:20 PM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>>
>> I appreciate you looking because we here at USDA could only find it as
>> a triple A requirement. If this is in fact the truth, I believe WCAG
>> should make a change because it is more than just an annoyance. The
>> software is originally SAP with modifications.
>>
>> Susie Stanzel
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: <EMAIL REMOVED> [mailto:
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Don Mauck
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 1:09 PM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>>
>> The biggest problem is that in a JAWS link list for example, you'll
>> just see a "click here," that is unacceptable, however I don't know if
>> WCAG actually has anything regarding that. I'm going to go and drill
>> down to see.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Nancy Johnson [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:41 AM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>>
>> 'Click Here' is one of the most used link text out there. It is often
>> added by content managers or small site owners who are unaware of
>> accessibility checkpoints.
>>
>> Our team maintains the technology on our sites, I do my best to make
>> sure everything technologically meets WCAG 2.0 AA. I also do
>> accessibility audits and mark this type of issue as not meeting
>> checkpoint 2.4.4. Because we are technology and not content, I
>> cannot change the link text.
>>
>> Nancy
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 12:36 PM, Crack, Joseph@DOR <
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>> > 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context): The purpose of each link can be
>> > determined from the link text alone or from the link text together
>> > with its programmatically determined link context, except where the
>> > purpose of the link would be ambiguous to users in general. (Level
>> > A)
>> >
>> > Joe
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> > [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Stanzel,
>> > Susan - FSA, Kansas City, MO
>> > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 8:15 AM
>> > To: WebAIM Discussion List ( <EMAIL REMOVED> )
>> > Subject: [WebAIM] link only saying "click here"
>> >
>> > Hi Listers,
>> >
>> > Here is the link for the description of this. My tester tells me
>> > this is a tripple A requirement. I can't believe this. Is there some
>> > other double A level requirement which could be sited?
>> >
>> > http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20140916/F84
>> >
>> > Susie Stanzel
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA
>> > solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of
>> > this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains
>> > may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal
>> penalties.
>> > If you believe you have received this message in error, please
>> > notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
>> > >> > >> > list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> > >> > >> > list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> >> >> list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> >> >> list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> >> >> list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> >> >> list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>> >> >> list messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
>>
> > > messages to <EMAIL REMOVED>
> > > >


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