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Re: Using Tables

for

From: Steve Faulkner
Date: Feb 11, 2012 2:12AM

Hi Ryan,
"I have ignored what HTML 5 says for the most part cause it isn't done,
and kind of chuckle at it. I think people who are using it and writing
books about it are doing it prematurely."

many aspects of HTML5 are here right now and being used so it makes sense
take it into account.Part of the accessibility support problem is/has been
that what is in specs and what is supported are not always the same thing.
As accessibility practitioners we need to be mindful of this and provide
best practise advice based on implementation realities.

best regards
Stevef

The summary attribute is not and has never been well supported across
browsers and AT, so using it to provide important information, means it is
not available to some users who would benefit from the information.



On 11 February 2012 05:07, Ryan E. Benson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> I have ignored what HTML 5 says for the most part cause it isn't done,
> and kind of chuckle at it. I think people who are using it and writing
> books about it are doing it prematurely.
>
> > Still, it doesn't make much sense to me to
> > present the purpose to screen reader users only.
> The flip side is why do screen readers allow you to jump between
> tables? I think until you can tie a visual element (thinking a heading
> here) to a table a summary is needed. Summaries are usually required
> for where I work due to their nature, and couldn't really be broken
> down effectively.
>
> --
> Ryan E. Benson
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 11:37 PM, Jared Smith < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> > On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 9:00 PM, Ryan E. Benson wrote:
> >> What makes you say that Jared? The spec (html 4) says the exact opposite
> >
> > I guess I misunderstood this, probably because when summary was still
> > in HTML5 it was defined as for structure only. Still, it doesn't make
> > much sense to me to present the purpose to screen reader users only.
> >
> > My point is that if a table is natively clear and accessible,
> > providing a summary won't make it more accessible. And if it's not
> > natively accessible, then it needs to be made accessible.
> >
> > Jared
> >