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Re: Interactive Glossary

for

From: deblist@suberic.net
Date: Jul 7, 2010 4:42PM


To start with, what does "hover" mean for users who don't use a mouse?

Once you've defined that, then you need to address the issues of screenreaders (do you have the freedom to assume only WAI-ARIA-compliant browser/screenreader combinations?) and users who browse the web magnified.

Additionally, there is a universal design issue (which is also going to affect people with limited vision and cognitive disabilities) that trying to make web browsers behave in unexpected ways doesn't work well for anybody. Web users don't expect hovering to give them a definition, and it's bad practice (again, both from a universal design perspective and from a cognitive disability practice) to try to reinvent the way browsers work.

-deborah