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Re: opening new browser windows?

for

From: Paul Bohman
Date: Nov 6, 2003 4:31PM

Before saying too much, I want to make it clear that WebAIM does not
endorse extraneous pop-up windows. The practice of creating surprise
windows that the user did not request is antithetical to accessibility.
WebAIM does not create extraneous surprise popups.

In redesigning the site, we did, however, decide to have external links
open in a new browser window, and of course we wanted to alert the user
about the new window as well.

There are drawbacks and weaknesses to opening new windows. We considered
both when redesigning the site. Though we decided to include links that
open new windows, I should say that we don't feel that it was the only
solution. We could just as easily have done it the other way, with all
links staying in the same window, and we have mixed feelings about both
methods.

Drawbacks to new browser windows:
1. Although most users are quite familiar with the idea of closing
external windows, some users will be confused. Some users with cognitive
disabilities fit this description.
Note: Contrary to what some have said, I don't think that screen
reader users are put at any additional disadvantage by new windows by
virtue of their being blind (e.g. blind people experience the same
disadvantages as sighted users, but no additional ones). All modern
screen readers (that I am aware of) tell the user when a new window is
opening. Some say "new browser window" (or something similar); others
play a certain sound that accomplishes the same purpose. In other words,
even if you don't explicitly tell the user in your page that you will be
opening a new window, the screen reader tells the user anyway. This is
not to say that we should rely on screen readers to tell us. For one
thing, the screen reader won't say anything until after you've already
clicked on the link. By then, it's too late to decide if you want to
follow the link. So the recommendation is still to alert the user.
Besides, not all users use screen readers. Visual users are entitled to
know if the link opens in a new window or not.
2. Some people just don't like it when web sites have links that open in
new windows, even if the site warns the user. These users feel that they
should be able to choose for themselves whether the link opens a new
window. This is a legitimate concern. I certainly don't want to annoy
users just for the fun of it, and I am also in favor of allowing users
to have control over their browsing experience.

Those are the drawbacks to new browser windows. Here are some benefits:

Benefits:
1. There is also a significant group of people who find that the new
window can be beneficial in that it alerts them when they are leaving
the site. Interestingly, many blind people fit this description. For
example, one of our WebAIM members is blind and uses a screen reader. If
a link destination is in the same window as the previous page, he
usually assumes that the link is to another page on the same site. There
have been times when he's gotten confused about the content of a Web
site, only to find out that he is no longer on the Web site at all. He
didn't know that the link was to a completely different site, and there
was no clear indication that he had left the first site. Upon being told
that he was on the wrong site, he was a little bit embarrassed.
Obviously he had misunderstood the purpose of the link. Blind people
don't have the benefit of being able to see that the look and feel of a
Web site has changed dramatically. They can't immediately figure this
out in the same way that visual users can, so they sometimes don't
realize that they have entered an entirely different Web site.
2. Since WebAIM is primarily instructional content, in which the
external links are considered "additional resources", instructional
theory generally asserts that it is best to make a clear distinction
between the core content and external, supplementary content. If a link
is labeled as being an external link that opens in a new window, it
makes a clear distinction between the core content and the supplementary
content.

Those are the main benefits of having external links open in new windows.

CONCLUSION:
Anyone can look at these and other drawbacks and benefits and decide in
favor or against having external links open in new windows. I don't
think that the answer is as clear cut as we'd like it to be, though I
know that some people have very definite opinions. Perhaps WebAIM will
change its method in the future. Perhaps not.

As far as "eating our own dogfood" is concerned, I have this to say:
WebAIM supports the standards of the WAI, and has participated in the
process of creating the standards with the WAI. Still, you should be
aware that not everyone on the WAI committees is in unanimous agreement
about all aspects of the standards that they themselves create. The
purpose of WebAIM is not to endorse all standards for better or for
worse. If there are standards that don't quite work as well as we'd like
them to, we don't tell people that they have to obey the standard just
for the sake of obeying the standard. That would be silly. In fact, that
is why the WAI has an ongoing workgroup dedicated to improving the
standards. Some WAI recommendations will always be around, and some will
fade away. I don't know what the recommendation will be in version 2.0
of the WAI guidelines because version 2.0 is still very much a work in
progress. In the meantime, WebAIM has implemented a method which,
although controversial, has a basis in logic. Whether it is the best
decision or not is a matter of opinion, and we ourselves are open to the
possibility that our own opinions may change in the future.


John Foliot - WATS.ca wrote:

> <opinion>
> Jared, I will presume that this has been discussed at some length at WebAIM,
> and I appreciate your perceived "balanced" approach, but I would also
> suggest that any organization/web site which purports to address web
> accessibility and support of "Standards" should take a stricter and perhaps
> narrower interpretation of the (possibly flawed) WCAG Checklist, if for no
> other reason than to "...eat their own dogfood*"

--
Paul Ryan Bohman
Technology Coordinator
WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
www.webaim.org
Center for Persons with Disabilities
www.cpd.usu.edu
Utah State University
www.usu.edu


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