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Re: mouseover/hover and keyboard accessible expandablemenu?

for

From: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
Date: Nov 6, 2009 1:20PM

As a screen reader drop down menus are accessible with the use of the up and
down arrow keys. There is no difficulty when this format is used.
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jared Smith" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] mouseover/hover and keyboard accessible
expandablemenu?


> On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 10:27 AM, < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
>> You build the stairs,
>> and you build the elevator, and then you let the person who uses
>> a wheelchair DECIDE how she wants to get upstairs.
>
> Agreed, but it often does not work this way with web accessibility. A
> web developer must make decisions and those decisions are usually
> forced upon the site visitors. If you provide really bad alternative
> text, it WILL be read by screen readers. If you try to make your
> complex drop-down menu accessible, keyboard-only and screen reader
> users WILL interact with your attempts at accessibility and will
> likely have a frustrating experience.
>
> I am curious though, how you typically interact with such menus using
> only your keyboard. Have you found them to generally be accessible? If
> so, how do they work? Any examples of good ones? Have you found a
> universal convention to making them keyboard accessible? Do you think
> they could be made accessible to someone that cannot see them?
>
> Jared
>