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From: Matson, Eric (ecmatson
Date: Tue, Jul 18 2023 9:51AM
Subject: WCAG 4.1.3 - Status Messages
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Hey all,

We have a form that requires the date and time be entered in a specific format. If the user doesn't enter the information correctly, the form resets to blank fields. There's no notification that the information was entered wrong, just resets when you tab out of the field.

I feel like this would be a failure of WCAG 4.1.3 - Understanding Success Criterion 4.1.3: Status Messages | WAI | W3C<https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/status-messages> - since there should be a status message saying the information you entered has changed. But I'm fairly new to citing WCAG, so figured I'd see what the experts here thought.

Thanks,

Eric Matson | Assistive Technology Specialist
Center for Disability Access and Resources
Division of Student Affairs
The University of Idaho
Phone: 208.885.6307 | = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = |<mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = %7C> Bruce M. Pitman Center 127

From: tim.harshbarger
Date: Tue, Jul 18 2023 10:06AM
Subject: Re: WCAG 4.1.3 - Status Messages
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I suspect it is more likely a 3.3.1 Error Identification issue (https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#error-identification), since it sounds like the error is being caught by the code but the users are not being notified in text there is an error.

Thanks!
Tim
Tim Harshbarger
Senior Accessibility Consultant
Deque
Cell: (309) 532-0193

From: Steve Green
Date: Tue, Jul 18 2023 10:09AM
Subject: Re: WCAG 4.1.3 - Status Messages
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That's not right, but it's a mistake a lot of people make. SC 4.1.3 only applies if there is a status message. The absence of a status message does not fail this success criterion.

However, it does appear to be a non-conformance of SC 3.3.1 (Error Identification), which says "If an input error is automatically detected, the item that is in error is identified and the error is described to the user in text."

It sounds like the incorrect date format is being detected automatically, so an error message must be displayed. This leads to two more success criteria potentially being relevant.

SC 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion) requires that "If suggestions for correction are known, then the suggestions are provided to the user". Depending on how the date format is being validated, the system may or may not know what needs to be corrected. For instance, regular expressions are sometimes used for validation, but they just give a pass / fail result. However, other validation methods might be able to be more specific.

Once you have added an error message in order to meet SC 3.3.1, SC 4.1.3 will apply if the error message is displayed without the page reloading. However, if the page reloads and contains the blank fields and the error message, this is not a status message so SC 4.1.3 does not apply.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd

From: Matson, Eric (ecmatson
Date: Tue, Aug 01 2023 8:55AM
Subject: Re: WCAG 4.1.3 - Status Messages
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Thanks Steve! I was pretty sure 4.1.3 was wrong, just couldn't find the right criteria.