CHI-WEB Archives

ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)

CHI-WEB@LISTSERV.ACM.ORG

Options: Use Forum View

Use Proportional Font
Show Text Part by Default
Condense Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Mime-Version:
1.0 (Apple Message framework v753.1)
Sender:
"ACM SIGCHI WWW Human Factors (Open Discussion)" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:28:14 -0800
Reply-To:
marilyn tahl <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
Content-Transfer-Encoding:
7bit
In-Reply-To:
<op.upwl22hmsmjzpq@acer3010>
Content-Type:
text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
From:
marilyn tahl <[log in to unmask]>
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (58 lines)
Nice to see this topic!

I agree with all Steve's points below, and add from personal  
experience watching blind users: we know tab order is important to  
most users -  but tab order and field labels are particularly  
important to blind users. I have watched blind users get quite irked  
when the tab order is illogical and/or field labels don't make sense  
to the purpose of the form.

I'd also add to stay away from  single-select drop-down lists that  
add additional fields on selection.  The form constantly changes as  
the user tries to make her/his way through the drop-down list -   
quite crazy-making for blind users when each element on the list is  
treated as a selection as it is read.

On Feb 25, 2009, at 2:58 AM, Steven Pemberton wrote:

> On Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:18:51 +0100, <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Does anyone have any research or personal experience observing  
>> blind users using online forms with screen readers? Specifically,  
>> do blind users
>
> The place to ask this sort of question is on the W3C WAI lists,...

> As I understand it, there are two approaches to accessibility  
> software... These two approaches can cause a difference in how  
> blind users use a form....
>
> My limited experience with blind users filling in forms says that  
> they do the same as sighted readers: sometimes they scan the form  
> first, and sometimes, especially if they already know the form,  
> they just pile in.

Absolutely-  it's important to not confuse needs with human  
behaviors. Blind users have special NEEDS, but still have the same  
range of behaviors as any other user. :-)

> Accessibility software often has to use heuristics, for instance to  
> tell which label belongs to which input control. There is currently  
> work going on in WAI-ARIA to improve this situation, allowing pages  
> to be more exactly marked up, to reduce the need for heuristics.

Best wishes,
Marilyn Tahl

"Empathy is not just about stepping into another's shoes. First you  
must remove your own shoes."  - Indian proverb


    --------------------------------------------------------------
        Tip of the Day: Forward out-of-office replies to
                    mailto:[log in to unmask]
     CHI-WEB: www.sigchi.org/web POSTINGS: mailto:[log in to unmask]
              MODERATORS: mailto:[log in to unmask]
       SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES & FAQ:  www.sigchi.org/web/faq.html
    --------------------------------------------------------------

ATOM RSS1 RSS2