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Re: [EXTERNAL] SC 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide - meaning of "starts automatically"

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From: Mark Magennis
Date: Mar 18, 2021 5:53AM

Thanks Patrick,

But do you remember why the scope was restricted to automatic events at all? Since the intent is to avoid distracting users while they use the page, I don't see what difference it makes whether the distraction arose due to something the user did or not. Restricting it to automatic events doesn't seem to fit the intention of the SC.

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of Patrick H. Lauke
Sent: 18 March 2021 11:10
To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [WebAIM] SC 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide - meaning of "starts automatically"

On 18/03/2021 10:50, Mark Magennis wrote:
> WCAG SC 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide says "For any moving, blinking or scrolling information that (1) starts automatically, (2) lasts more than five seconds, and (3) is presented in parallel with other content, there is a mechanism for the user to pause, stop, or hide it...".
>
> We have a file upload function that displays an animated scrolling bar while the upload is in progress. The upload time is potentially longer than five seconds and while it is happening the user can continue to use the rest of the page. I've declared this an SC 2.2.2 failure but someone is claiming that it isn't because it doesn't start automatically. It starts when the user activates the file upload button. Given the purpose of the SC I can't believe that this interpretation is what WAI intends but I haven't found any statement in the WCAG documentation or elsewhere about what is meant by "(1) starts automatically" in the wording of SC 2.2.2.
>
> The WCAG examples in the understanding document give reason to believe that a progress indicator is not considered to be something that starts automatically, but that's my reading of it. Anyone have an opinion or know of any statements by WAI or others about this?

From memory, "starts automatically" is intended as "not as a result of a user action", so a strict reading of the normative text would seem to suggest that the progress indicator which appears only after the user takes an action would indeed be exempt. In the past, in similar situations, I have filed these sorts of things as a "nominal" pass, but followed up with a best practice advice of still considering not animating things in too distracting a way / taking a cue from prefers-reduced-motion.

P
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Patrick H. Lauke

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