[wp-trac] Re: [WordPress Trac] #9445: All Input Tags are not Section 508 Compliance

[WordPress Trac]

#9445: All Input Tags are not Section 508 Compliance
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 Reporter:  dmo7            |        Owner:  anonymous
     Type:  task (blessed)  |       Status:  reopened 
 Priority:  normal          |    Milestone:  2.8      
Component:  Accessibility   |      Version:  2.7      
 Severity:  normal          |   Resolution:           
 Keywords:  has-patch 508   |  
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Comment(by Elpie):

 Replying to [comment:21 ryan]:
 > Replying to [comment:19 Elpie]:
 > > ALT text should not be used on inputs at all.
 > >
 > > Care also needs to be taken with labelled fields. Using the
 class="hidden" doesn't just make the label hidden to standard browser
 output but also hides it from most assistive devices, essentially meaning
 that a lot of work is being done in WordPress with the intention of aiding
 accessibility but which is not.
 > >
 > > Anything using CSS display:none is not discovered or spoken by screen
 readers.
 > >
 > > For example the excerpt is a labelled field, but the label is hidden
 with CSS "display:none". This makes the label non-existent to Jaws.
 There's also no title attribute for Jaws to recognise.
 >
 > I've heard JAWS reads these fine.  We put a lot of hidden labels in at
 the request of JAWS users.
 >
 > http://www.wac.ohio-state.edu/tutorials/forms/hiding-labels.htm

 The page you reference is VERY outdated.

 "display:none" and "visibility:hidden" are designed to prevent the element
 from being rendered on a browser screen. Screen readers read the screen.
 Several years ago a combination of browser bugs + bugs in JAWS and Windows
 EYES resulted in *some* content that was hidden by "display:none" being
 able to be read by those screen readers. This was not consistent across
 all screen readers or other assistive devices, and was not consistent
 across browsers.

 Internet Explorer bugs meant this was the last browser to allow content
 hidden by "display:none" to be viewed. JAWS has addressed this:
 http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp
 "JAWS no longer announces input fields that are hidden from view by a
 cascading style sheet."

 It is generally accepted among those of us who work with accessibility
 that labels should either be available to everyone, or, in those few
 instances where additional labelling benefits only those using assistive
 devices, then using a margin offset wider than a screen makes those labels
 hidden from view but able to be read.

 Where WordPress has correctly used labels, it should first be determined
 whether the labels could be made visible to everyone (which would save a
 lot of work) or, if they need to be hidden then its a simple change -
 instead of "display:none" in the .hidden element in CSS, use a margin
 offset. I don't believe that they all need the class="hidden" & would be
 happy to submit a patch if agreement can be reached on which labels could
 be made visible to everyone.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/9445#comment:23>
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