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Re: More on greater-than symbols

for

From: Joe Clark
Date: Oct 6, 2002 4:08PM

>>Just as screen readers had to be upgraded to deal with the
>>*reality* that tables are used for layout (many dozens of pages at
>>my sites still use them, for example),
>
>But that's adaptation to ugly reality, _not_ compliance to
>standards, which you say you're calling for. Besides, there's not
>much a screen reader _can_ do with layout tables other than
>processing them cell-wise and letting the user specify the cell to
>be accessed, by row and column number, which is the same as they
>need to do for a poorly-designed tabular data table.

Yes, but the adaptive technology can let you, for example, skip from
cell to cell, or skip over large regions of cells. It's not a
question of invariant serial reading.

Also, ever heard of de facto standards? Some of them aren't so
terrible, actually.

>What would be, in your opinion, the correct reading for ">" in breadcrumbs?

"Arrow."

Your move.

> Actually, it's difficult to figure out good wording. More
>importantly, the results are catastrophic if the same words are used
>when a screen reader presents, say, examples in an XML tutorial, or
>simple mathematical expressions. If you are suggesting that screen
>readers should make contextual analysis and then guess which words
>to use, I would say that you are asking for too much; and they would
>be bound to guess wrong at times (and IMHO rather often).

At yahoo.com, or after the words "You are here:," or if several of
them are in the same paragraph in a sequence schematically similar
to--

<a></a> > <a></a> > <a></a>

-- then no, it isn't that difficult.

It's hit-and-miss, admittedly.
--

Joe Clark | <EMAIL REMOVED>
Accessibility <http://joeclark.org/access/>;
Author, _Building Accessible Websites_
<http://joeclark.org/book/>;


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