Thread Subject: Re: Bypassing content.

Note

This archival content is maintained by WebAIM and NCDAE on behalf of TEITAC and the U.S. Access Board . Additional details on the updates to section 508 and section 255 can be found at the Access Board web site.

From: Smith, Jamie
Date: Wed, Jun 20 2007 8:00 AM

Is there any reason why there is so much focus on "skip navigation". To
me this is one mechanism available. Our agency often gets complaints
from users who use speech and many of the sites do use skip navigation
(hidden), but do not group links or even any programmatic method
(meaning code like order lists) to let a speech user navigate easily.

Can't we use similar words to wcag 2.0 and use similar examples.
Otherwise our state folks who are not by state law required to follow
508 will have sites with skip navigation and still not have sites that
are very speech friendly as the front pages are LINK endowed.

wcag words and techniques below.

A mechanism is available to bypass blocks of content that are repeated
on multiple Web pages.

Sufficient Techniques
Creating links to skip blocks of repeated material using one of the
following techniques:

G1: Adding a link at the top of each page that goes directly to the main
content area

G123: Adding a link at the beginning of a block of repeated content to
go to the end of the block

G124: Adding links at the top of the page to each area of the content

Creating HTML links to skip blocks of content (future link)

Grouping blocks of repeated material in a way that can be skipped, using
one of the following techniques:

H69: Providing heading elements at the beginning of each section of
content (HTML)

H50: Using structural elements to group links (HTML) .

H70: Using frame elements to group blocks of repeated material (HTML)
AND H64: Using the title attribute of the frame element (HTML) .

-----Original Message-----
From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
[mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of
Hoffman, Allen
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 8:55 AM
To: TEITAC Web/Software Subcommittee
Subject: Re: [teitac-websoftware] Bypassing content.

I concur with don on this. Expanding this to include omni navigation is
probably very difficult to nail down.



Allen Hoffman -- = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ; v: 202-447-0303

-----Original Message-----
From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
[mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of
Barrett, Don
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:24 PM
To: TEITAC Web/Software Subcommittee
Subject: Re: [teitac-websoftware] Bypassing content.

Tom, you raise an interesting point. The whole notion of
"programmatically determinable" suggests that elements are formed in
such a way such tat they are distinguishable from one another and as
such can be parsed, navigated, and otherwise identified by the specific
characteristics which separate them from each other. That doesn't
necessarily mean standard code, but it does prescribe that elements
maintain characteristics which separate them from each other.

My only issue is that this is so generic a requirement that developers
and Feds may have trouble discerning exactly how it should be
accomplished.

For example, if a designer told me that they have honored our request
and that a repetitive navigation bar is separated from the rest of the
content by the <p> tag, such that the page content begins at the third
paragraph of each page, does that meet the standard?

I see here that folks don't like the concept of "skipping repetitive
navigation links" because it is to limiting in its scope, but remember
that it is its very specificity which has made it easy to implement. If
we just tell people that we have to be able to go anywhere anytime with
just a few keystrokes, what exactly are we telling them to do.

All I am saying is that we want a standard, not a philosophy.

Don


-----Original Message-----
From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
[mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Tom
Brett
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 8:41 PM
To: 'TEITAC Web/Software Subcommittee'
Subject: Re: [teitac-websoftware] Bypassing content.

I must be missing something. To be programmatically determinable it
would require (so that code validators can determine if the skip nav
exits) would mean that there would need to be standard coding that every
developer uses, right? This means that a developer would not be able to
use something creative in the skip nav. They would be required to use
the same coding regardless of where they are coding (OPM, GSA, Interior,
etc).



We would be developing coding standards beyond Section 508 if we do
this. We would be dictating to the developer how to code the page.







Tom Brett

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