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Number of posts in this thread: 6 (In chronological order)

From: Angela French
Date: Mon, Apr 06 2015 10:06AM
Subject: semantics for an A-Z index
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Hello,
We are building up an A-Z type index there the alpha letters are <h2> headings. The question is what the items listed under each alpha letter should be to be best understood by screen reader users.

Our contractor coded them as <h3>, but I don't think that's right, since my thought on the use of headings is that content should follow headings. Would it be best to code the items as a list under each alpha letter, or is it okay to just have them be links? Lists could be overkill since some alpha's might only have one item.

<h2>A</h2>
<a href="itemone.html">item one</a>
<a href="itemtwo.html">item two</a>
<h2>B</h2>
<a href="itemone.html">item one</a>
<a href="itemtwo.html">item two</a>


OR as a list:

<h2>A</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="itemone.html">item one</a></li>
<li><a href="itemtwo.html">item two</a></li>
<h2>B</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="itemone.html">item one</a></li>
<li><a href="itemtwo.html">item two</a></li>
</ul>



Thank you,


Angela French
Internet Specialist
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
360-704-4316
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www.checkoutacollege.com<;http://www.checkoutacollege.com>;
www.sbctc.edu<;http://www.sbctc.edu>;

From: Steve Green
Date: Tue, Apr 07 2015 2:30AM
Subject: Re: semantics for an A-Z index
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I would recommend a list because that gives more information to screen reader users i.e. the number of items under each <h2> heading. That helps them make informed decisions about how to navigate within the page.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd

From: Cliff Tyllick
Date: Tue, Apr 07 2015 10:14AM
Subject: Re: semantics for an A-Z index
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I agree. The list is the appropriate semantic feature. If you were to make each item an <h3>, then what is any given item a heading of?
Nm
This is a good example of situations in which lists will often have only one item. Does that make it not a list?

Well, if you go to the store with a scrap of paper that has a single item written on it, does the fact that you need only one item mean that this piece of paper is not your shopping list?

Or if you sit at your desk and find only "Finish the big project!!!!" on your calendar for the day, does the fact that you have only one must-do item mean that you have no "to-do list"?

Yes, in many cases it is at least poor form to present a single item as a list of one, but in those cases the list format is being used as a literary device to draw attention to important information. This is not one of those cases.

Cliff Tyllick

Sent from my iPhone
Although its spellcheck often saves me, all goofs in sent messages are its fault.

> On Apr 7, 2015, at 3:30 AM, Steve Green < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> I would recommend a list because that gives more information to screen reader users i.e. the number of items under each <h2> heading. That helps them make informed decisions about how to navigate within the page.
>
> Steve Green
> Managing Director
> Test Partners Ltd
>
>

From: Angela French
Date: Tue, Apr 07 2015 10:18AM
Subject: Re: semantics for an A-Z index
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Have to laugh at your grocery list example! I often end up at the store with a list and still forget stuff.

Angela

From: _mallory
Date: Wed, Apr 08 2015 12:22AM
Subject: Re: semantics for an A-Z index
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On Tue, Apr 07, 2015 at 04:18:45PM +0000, Angela French wrote:
> Have to laugh at your grocery list example! I often end up at the store with a list and still forget stuff.
>
There's also "single-person families". Besides the fact that we tend
see the word family as meaning more than one person. :P

_mallory

From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: Wed, Apr 08 2015 6:51AM
Subject: Re: semantics for an A-Z index
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You could have the items marked as both list items and H3. I can't see doing this for this example, but if there were content for each of the list items, it could be desirable. You would get the list information, but be able to navigate by heading as well.

<h2>Produce aisle</h2>
<ul>
<li><h3>Salad ingredients</h3>
<ul>
<li>romaine lettuce</li>
[… 10 other things]
<li>cucumbers</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><h3>Soup ingredients</h3></li>
[…]

Note: my grocery lists are never this structured. Perhaps if they were, I wouldn't forget things.

sb
Sarah E. Bourne
Director of IT Accessibility, MassIT
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
http://www.mass.gov/MassIT