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Re: how to make use of asterisks accessible

for

From: Bim Egan
Date: Nov 9, 2012 10:32AM

Hi,

To Angela: my feeling is that there are too many asterisks. For people
without sight, it's difficult to determine whether the * is at the start or
end of a line. Don't know if it's just because of the limitations of text
email, but to me it sounded as though everything was related, and there was
no point at which it was clear what explained the *'s. Try using headings
and list structure, and add the word "Note" to the explanation paragraph and
suddenly it makes a lot more sense.
Suggestion:

<h3> PERS/TRS participants, or those with no retirement plan:</h3>
<ul>
<li>
$17,000 - If you are under age 50
</li>
<li>
$22,500* - If you are age 50 or over
</li></ul>

<h3> State Board Retirement Plan participants: </h3>
<ul>
<li>
$17,000 - If you are under age 50
</li>
<li>
$22,500* - If you are age 50 or over.
</li></ul>

* Note: The VIP maximum contribution amount shown above includes the Age 50
"Catch-up Contribution" of $5,500 as described in the "Catch-up
Contributions" section below.


To John: using images to represent asterisks may cause issues for some
users. depending on the browser and screen reader in use, some screen
readers don't pick them up, even when they are within explicit labels. This
may be a screen reader bug, and it would be wrong to tell developers not to
do something because of a software bug, but it's as well to be aware that
this practice may cause problems. Best is to keep it simple and use the
text * instead.

Cheers,

Bim
----- Original Message -----
From: "John E Brandt" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: "'WebAIM Discussion List'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2012 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] how to make use of asterisks accessible


I have seen some developers approach this by using an image (<img>) of an
asterisk and then using the ALT description and Title to inform the screen
reader (and others) that there is more information available about this
particular item. The image is also clickable and links to the additional
information. But using an actual link and anchor on the page for more
information is also a valid approach as long as the link content makes sense
when read out of context (i.e., NOT "click here" or "more info", but rather
"Use this link for more information about .....").

In polls/survey's in SurveyGizmo, if you identify an item as "required" they
use the image approach and the ALT indicates "this item is required" with no
additional link.

~j

John E. Brandt
www.jebswebs.com
<EMAIL REMOVED>
207-622-7937
Augusta, Maine, USA