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Re: Opening modal window without user action

for

From: Chaals McCathie Nevile
Date: Mar 29, 2016 4:41AM


On Fri, 25 Mar 2016 14:37:05 +0100, Patrick H. Lauke
< <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> On 25/03/2016 11:18, Bruno Girard wrote:
>> Hello Rakesh,
>> This change do not happen on focus... It is slightly different. We open
>> the
>> window and give focus to this window. This window appears after a
>> programmed delay, without any specific user action. Does 3.2.1 is still
>> the
>> criteria to invoke for this fail?
>
> It appears that WCAG 2.0 does not have a very specific SC for unexpected
> changes of context that happen without user action (be it input or
> focus) at AA.

Hmm.

Agreed. I think this is a serious problem actually. I'll take it back to
the WCAG group.

> For AAA, I'd say this falls foul of 3.2.5 Change on Request
> https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/consistent-behavior-no-extreme-changes-context.html

Agreed.

I think it also fails 2.2.4 - postpone time limits before they impact the
user - again at AAA level,
https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/time-limits-postponed.html

Elsewhere in the thread at 15:20:22 +0100, Patrick H. Lauke
< <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Ironically perhaps, I'd say that if the automatic popup happened right
> away, and NOT after a timeout (so that the user didn't already start
> interacting with the actual page, only to be unceremoniously and
> unwantedly being yanked off to this popup), then it would be less of a
> problem...

Right. In fact I think the case described in the failure technique at
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/F52.html *doesn't* violate WCAG 2.

I raised an issue on that through the feedback form, but I have no idea
whether that goes somewhere that it can be found by others. Anyone know?
Or should I duplicate it with a github issue?

> (this would also remove the problem/annoyance experienced by all users -
> e.g. the "non disabled" mouse user who is starting to
> read/interact/scroll down on the page only to then be rudely presented
> with a doorslam modal; this would also, of course, be a problem for
> users with cognitive disabilities, or screen magnification, etc)

yeah, part of the problem here is that you think you're doing something,
so you start a sequence of actions (navigation keystrokes, entering text
through an IME, all kinds of oddness) but mid-way through they are
suddenly applied somewhere else.

3.3.4 and 3.3.6 - error prevention, limited for level AA and general for
AAA, where actions that affect user data must be reversible or confirmed -
would apply in some of these cases, but the confusion effect isn't handled
automatically, so it depends on what happens in the modal popup and the
webpage.

cheers

Chaals

--
Charles McCathie Nevile - web standards - CTO Office, Yandex
<EMAIL REMOVED> - - - Find more at http://yandex.com