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Re: skip-nav tabindex setfocus etc.

for

From: Gez Lemon
Date: Mar 15, 2006 2:00PM

Hi Alastair,

On 15/03/06, Alastair Campbell < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Unusually, I disagree with Gez on a couple of points:

We're not a million miles in apart in our views.

> > A link phrase of "main content",
> > "navigation menu", or anything else that describes the target rather
> > than the action is less likely to confuse people.
>
> In some instances, yes, but it could depend on a few other factors,
> including source order.
>
> Focusing on visual & keyboard access: If you have a typical layout (e.g.
> header, 3 columns including left navigation), with the navigation at the
> bottom of the source code; is having a link "navigation menu" just above
> the navigation (visually) not going to be confusing?

Yes, and it would also be confusing to keyboard navigate a website
with such a layout. If the skip link was in a column separate from the
navigation, but first in the source order, then the link phrase
wouldn't be confusing.

> In this context, I would have thought the model for it would be more of
> an action? Visually you are moving the focus rather than going
> somewhere, as you aren't even scrolling significantly.

That's where the confusion arises, which is partly due to the hacky
nature of skip links. Skip links are actions, but users don't expect
to see links marked up as actions. Interface controls have a
well-defined meaning, and people subconsciously expect user-interface
controls to be marked up (or used, in a non-web environment)
correctly. In any GUI environment, actions are typically provided
through command buttons (or some other user interface control). On the
web, hyperlinks usually take the user to a document, or a document
fragment. When hyperlinks behave differently to the user's
expectations (which is becoming more wide-spread due to badly written
web applications), it's inevitable that some degree of confusion will
arise. This is why I suggested that link phrases should describe the
target rather than the action, as that's what people subconsciously
think when they see a link phrase.

> I'm struggling to think of what is actually useful in this situation,
> any skip link is either going to appear useless, or actually be useless!
> (i.e. it looks like the navigation is next so the skip link looks
> useless, or the skip link is to the content which is next anyway.)

Agreed - in this particular scenario, I think the web
designer/developer should put some more thought into how it's going to
work.

Best regards,

Gez

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