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Accesskeys (again??) (was RE: Physically Challenged Web Page Access)

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From: John Foliot - WATS.ca
Date: May 4, 2005 1:47PM

Christian Heilmann wrote:

>>
>> The things you can do as a designer is to make sure none of your web
>> site elements are dependent on a mouse (this rules out CSS only
>> dropdown menus, for example), ensure a logical tab order and add
>> accesskeys to reach the different sections of the site, and there is a
>> standard for that: http://www.clagnut.com/blog/193/


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spreading false information is worse than saying nothing at all. There are
no *STANDARDS* regarding accesskeys, and in fact there are many, many
reasons for not using them. Richard Rutter is a prolific writer and
generally a fair advocate of accessible design, but his "take" on accesskeys
is flawed, and his opinion is no more of a standard than mine or your
opinion.

For the last 2 years now, we have written (ad naseum) about the pitfalls of
using accesskeys, and why we specifically advocate *NOT* using them. Start
here, and follow all of the related links:

Using Accesskeys - Is It Worth it?: http://wats.ca/articles/accesskeys/19
More reasons why we don't use accesskeys:
http://wats.ca/articles/accesskeyconflicts/37
Accesskeys and Reserved Keystroke Combinations:
http://wats.ca/resources/accesskeysandkeystrokes/38
Link Relationships as an Alternative to Accesskeys:
http://wats.ca/articles/accesskeyalternatives/52
The Future of Accesskeys: http://wats.ca/articles/thefutureofaccesskeys/66

I implore all readers and posters to this list to ensure that their
statements are in fact correct - and post URLs to support claims and
assertations. Numerous readers lurk here in an attempt to learn, and
teaching them "bad information" does all a dis-service.

JF
--
John Foliot <EMAIL REMOVED>
Web Accessibility Specialist / Co-founder of WATS.ca
Web Accessibility Testing and Services
http://www.wats.ca
Phone: 1-613-267-1983 / 1-866-932-4878 (North America)