WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Relating answer options to their question

for

From: Isabel Holdsworth
Date: Sep 4, 2018 3:06AM

Thanks Birkir. I wish we could do that, but our software is used
internationally, for all sorts of tests and exams, aimed at all age
groups, and so sadly we have zero control over question length or
content. We'll keep doing our best to enforce accessibility where we
can, and hope that authors read our documentation and follow our
advice to make their content accessible.

On 03/09/2018, Birkir R. Gunnarsson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I'd go with the old fieldset/legend and advise the authors to keep the
> questions as clear and concise as possible. If they can keep
> explanatory text such as (only check one answer) or the like outside
> of the question (<legend>) I'd code the system in such a way that it
> could be done (keep it in the fieldset after the legend).
>
>
> On 9/3/18, Isabel Holdsworth < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>> Thanks everyone. We're creating a question authoring system, which
>> means we won't have fine control over what's uploaded. So we're trying
>> to cover all bases in enabling authors to create accessible content.
>>
>> I think that asking an author to condense their question down into
>> four or five words might result in some interesting content, and good
>> as the idea is, we don't feel confident that authors would understand
>> the consequences of getting it wrong, especially since the shortened
>> version won't be visible. I've used this technique myself many times,
>> and it works well if you have control over the content.
>>
>> Thanks again, Isabel
>>
>> On 01/09/2018, Guy Hickling < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>>> I would like to take up the point of very long fieldset legends because
>>> this does bother me every time I see it, and I think we could look for
>>> some
>>> alternative solution without necessarily going down the ARIA route.
>>>
>>> Where a group of checkboxes or radios has a very long text above the
>>> group,
>>> but no fieldset, I have experimented with recommending as the solution
>>> that
>>> the developers should choose a few words that correctly describe the
>>> group
>>> and could therefore be the group label (keeping it to less than 5 words
>>> if
>>> possible. These words will usually occur in the long text already shown
>>> on
>>> screen.) Add these chosen words (visually on screen) above the very long
>>> text as a visual label for the whole group. Then use them as the
>>> fieldset
>>> legend. Just leave the long text as is, not using it for the legend.
>>> This
>>> offers a way to have very short fieldset legends, while still showing
>>> the
>>> desired long text before the group of checkboxes/radios.
>>>
>>> I would be interested in people's comments on this.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Guy Hickling
>>> >>> >>> >>> >>>
>> >> >> >> >>
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > >