WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Adding a label to search box

for

From: Kynn Bartlett
Date: Apr 11, 2006 1:40PM

On 4/11/06, Jon Gunderson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I am not sure that the CSS hidding technique should be
> considered an "ugly hack".

It's a use of standard CSS in a way which isn't intended purely to get
around a limitation in current user agents. So, it's a hack. I happen
to think it's pretty ugly, when it comes down to it.

You're not really wanting to position the element over THERE (Kynn
points offscreen) some arbitrary number of negative pixels. You're
wanting display to be properly supported with media rules. You can't
get that now, so positioning something way off in space seems to work
with today's browsers and screenreaders. But it's generally a bad
idea to use these kinds of hacks.

> If someone disables CSS to apply
> like their own high contrast stylesheet it is nice to have the
> form controls labeled.

That's beside the point, though. I am not calling the concept an "ugly
hack" (although see the next paragraph), but rather the way that is
currently being chose to implement it via positioning.

I am still of the opinion that there's no real good reason to make
these form labels hidden in the first place. I think that it is a
benefit in usability to everyone to have explicit, non-hidden labels
which are visible to all users, not just those with particular
2006-era screenreaders or who choose to disable style sheets.

--Kynn

--
Kynn Bartlett < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Writer, Web Developer, Photographer, Game Designer
Tucson, Arizona
http://kynn.com