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Re: Is use of <label> and title redundant?

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From: GILLENWATER, ZOE M
Date: Nov 19, 2012 11:17AM

Hi Sailesh,

But if you were using visible labels you *would* hear them read in browse mode, so using title text that is not read in browse mode is a different experience from the norm, and it seems to me a worse one.

For instance, if I had three fields for month, day, and year of a birthday, and each had a visible label in front of it, I would hear in browse mode something like "Birthday. Month, edit, blank. Day, edit, blank. Year, edit, blank." It's clear to me what those fields are, which allows me to know whether or not I want to enter forms mode and fill out this form.

But if I got rid of the visible labels and just used title text, some screen reader users would now hear in browse mode something like "Birthday. Edit, blank. Edit, blank. Edit, blank." You don't think this is a worse experience than the former? Sure, I can guess at what each of those fields is, and have my guess validated when I enter forms mode and finally hear the title text, but why should the user have to do this? Why not just provide hidden labels so they hear the exact same thing they would hear had visible labels been used instead?

I still don't see what advantage using title has over a hidden label, apart from:
-- it's slightly less bytes of HTML
-- it's slightly easier to implement (if you don't already have a hiding CSS class in your CSS, but if you do, creating hidden labels is pretty much just as easy)
-- it will show on hover as a tooltip to mouse-using sighted users (which could be seen as a disadvantage by some people in some situations)

What am I missing? Are these the only reasons why you find title to be superior?

Thanks,
Zoe



Zoe Gillenwater
Web Accessibility Technical Architect
AT&T Consumer Digital Experience

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4625 Creekstone Dr | Durham, NC 27703

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