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Re: Meta Infos necessary in links?

for

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Feb 19, 2019 2:17PM

If you use an icon to visually indicate any of the things you
mentioned,i.e. that a link opens in a new tab, it becomes a WCAG 1.1.1
(alt text) issue to indicate the same to users who can't see the
icons.
Ditto if you have a file icon, video icon or same page link icon.
In the absence of visual cues you don't need to indicate any of these
things to a screen reader user for AA conformance, whether you choose
to do so is a UX (or ratherAX, accessible experience) decision.

Screen readers can interpret target="_blank" and links whose targets
are an id on the same page and provide that info to the user, but if
the tab is opened or focus is moved with JavaScript a screen reader
could not provide this info.

There was a massive discussion a year or two ago about whether opening
in anew window constitutes a change of context, the majority opinion
was that it was not.

Having the privilege to specify my own standards for accessibility in
some situations I have made it a standard requirement to add screen
reader indication to links tat open in a new window, and to have
people follow WCAG 2.4.9 over 2.4.4, with the only exception being
links in a table (if the links with identical text have header cells
that make them unique that is sufficient).
But if you are operating under restrictions such as minimal WCAG
conformance you often do not have that decision power.



On 2/19/19, glen walker < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Yes, meta info is more about usability and user experience.
>
> And you are correct that if something is inaccessible to everyone, then
> it's not an accessibility issue, ironically. If no one can get to the
> information, then it's a bad experience for everyone. That doesn't mean it
> shouldn't be fixed, but it would be under the umbrella of usability rather
> than specifically about accessibility.
>
> For links that open a new window or new tab, that would fall under 3.2.5
> (AAA). While a click on a link is a strong request for change, if that
> change also includes opening a new tab, that's an unexpected change. When
> a new tab opens, my "back" button won't work. If I'm not aware that a new
> tab opened, then it could be very confusing why I can't go back.
>
> Whether JAWS or another screen reader announces that a link goes to another
> location on the same page is somewhat irrelevant. Sometimes screen reader
> users get more information than sighted users. For example, when
> navigating to a combobox (<select> element), jaws will tell you how many
> items are in the dropdown list. Sighted users don't have that benefit.
> They have to open the list and count the items. But that doesn't mean we
> should display the number of items in the list in the combobox's label just
> because a screen reader provides that information. I feel the same about
> links. If a screen reader tells you it's an in-page link, that's fine, but
> it doesn't mean there needs to be a visual indicator that you have an
> in-page link.
>
> Now, I should have caveated all my comments that they are just my opinion.
> There are a lot of smart people on this list that might have a
> contradictory opinion. But your original question did ask for "opinions".
>
> Glen
> > > > >


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