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From: Terence de Giere
Date: Tue, Apr 15 2003 3:44PM
Subject: Re: Inline CSS Styles
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Jules wrote (regarding a discussion of overriding inline styles with a
user stylesheet):

<snip>
What about the important ! option? Depending on the knowledge of the user,
they may not know about that option though.
</snip>

You are right, Jules. I ignored this option for the reason you
mentioned. I am not sure how this rule is actually implemented in the
current and somewhat older CSS capable browsers, not having tested it. I
have never used the ! important property myself. I guess I just do not
do important stuff. There was a change between CSS1 where the author's
style sheet with an ! important property took precedence over a user's
style sheet, and CSS2 where the user's style sheet ! important property
is given precedence, a change in favor of greater accessibility.

If someone else on the forum knows the answer to how these rules have
been implemented in various browsers, send us a note. If the differences
between CSS1 and CSS2 were actually implemented in browsers, then using
this rule could lead to inconsistent results if implemented both by the
page author and the user.

As you mentioned, I doubt the average user will know how to create a
style sheet, and needs to rely on features such as found in Opera 7
where different presentation modes are preset by the software developer.
Usability specialists have said the average user rarely changes
defaults; therefore when designing for the web, software defaults in
browsers etc., need to be considered as the most likely scenario to be
encountered, and after that the more adventurous users might try
changing the built in options in the software before trying to become a
programmer just so they can read a page.

I think developers and others involved in site building are more likely
to override defaults on their own computer because they are more
familiar with the details of computer technology. But even here, I have
noticed, they do not often check how their designs will work if the
defaults are changed. For example, how many designers check the
readability of a web page with a Windows machine set to 'large fonts'
(120 dots per inch display)? This setting can cause ungainly line
breaks and other visual problems that affect readability if the page
design is 'pixel perfect' because it affects the size ratio of various
elements, notwithstanding some newer browsers that can now compensate
for this effect.

Because the site under consideration here is a retrofit, it is unlikely
that many features beyond 508 or W3C Priority 1 items will be easily
implemented, and checking the site with a non CSS browser like Netscape
3 to assess readability without in line styles, and perhaps checking the
design with color blindness simulation is all that is required by the
rules for page content. Substitution of user style sheets and colors is
in the browser vendors' accessibilty ballpark.

Terence de Giere
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