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Thread: Is breaking the back button a WCAG 2.0 accessibility failure?

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Number of posts in this thread: 3 (In chronological order)

From: Paul J. Adam
Date: Thu, Aug 23 2012 12:58PM
Subject: Is breaking the back button a WCAG 2.0 accessibility failure?
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The back button is said to be the most used out of all the buttons on a web browser so if the user presses the back button and instead of taking them back to the previous screen it reloads the entire page and takes them to the home page, is that an accessibility failure?

I know it's terrible usability.

Paul J. Adam
Accessibility Evangelist
Deque Systems
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
www.PaulJAdam.com
@pauljadam on Twitter

From: Jim Allan
Date: Thu, Aug 23 2012 1:07PM
Subject: Re: Is breaking the back button a WCAG 2.0 accessibility failure?
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It Violates User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
3.2.2 Back Button : The user can reverse recognized navigation between
web addresses (e.g. standard "back button" functionality). (Level AA)

from the latest editors draft
http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2012/ED-IMPLEMENTING-UAAG20-20120816

Jim Allan,
Co-chair User Agent working group

On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 1:58 PM, Paul J. Adam < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> The back button is said to be the most used out of all the buttons on a web browser so if the user presses the back button and instead of taking them back to the previous screen it reloads the entire page and takes them to the home page, is that an accessibility failure?
>
> I know it's terrible usability.
>
> Paul J. Adam
> Accessibility Evangelist
> Deque Systems
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> www.PaulJAdam.com
> @pauljadam on Twitter
>
> > > --
Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator & Webmaster
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964

From: Paul J. Adam
Date: Thu, Aug 23 2012 1:13PM
Subject: Re: Is breaking the back button a WCAG 2.0 accessibility failure?
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Well this is where the URL does not change at all so the entire new page/content is loaded in via AJAX I guess and then when the back button is pressed it reloads the whole page back to the homepage.

Paul J. Adam
Accessibility Evangelist
Deque Systems
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
www.PaulJAdam.com
@pauljadam on Twitter

On Aug 23, 2012, at 2:07 PM, Jim Allan < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> It Violates User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
> 3.2.2 Back Button : The user can reverse recognized navigation between
> web addresses (e.g. standard "back button" functionality). (Level AA)
>
> from the latest editors draft
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2012/ED-IMPLEMENTING-UAAG20-20120816
>
> Jim Allan,
> Co-chair User Agent working group
>
> On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 1:58 PM, Paul J. Adam < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> The back button is said to be the most used out of all the buttons on a web browser so if the user presses the back button and instead of taking them back to the previous screen it reloads the entire page and takes them to the home page, is that an accessibility failure?
>>
>> I know it's terrible usability.
>>
>> Paul J. Adam
>> Accessibility Evangelist
>> Deque Systems
>> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
>> www.PaulJAdam.com
>> @pauljadam on Twitter
>>
>> >> >> >
>
>
> --
> Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator & Webmaster
> Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
> 1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
> voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
> "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
> > >