[Athen] Website accessibility

[Robert Spangler]

Just to be clear I never meant to imply that accessibility is only about
screen reader users.  It's just my specific perspective.

Robert


On Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 12:30 PM Katherine Deibel <kndeibel at metageekery.org>
wrote:


> Strictly WCAG, you need to provide an indication of this unexpected

> behavior as it creates a change of context for the user. Opening in a new

> link can be quite surprising to some users and cause some cognitive

> confusion, especially if not noticed when it happens. Accessibility is not

> only about screen reader users. Unexpected popups or new tabs has been a

> common source of irritation in my work with students and patrons with

> various cognitive disabilities. WCAG unfortunately does not do much (if

> anything) for cognitive supports, and many accessibility experts, myself

> included, highly recommend avoiding this whenever possible. Even providing

> an indication can be tricky. Many people use an icon but that icon is not

> universally understood.

>

>

>

> Frankly, I would pushback hard on the marketing claim and inquire why

> opening in a new tab is a best practice? In general, user experience

> studies <https://www.nngroup.com/articles/new-browser-windows-and-tabs/>

> find that users get greatly annoyed when this happens.

>

>

>

> However, you can do this accessibly. The following is my recommendation

> that goes beyond WCAG to support various cognitive issues as well:

>

>

>    1. The following must be done absolutely consistently.

>    2. *Every* link should have an accessible indication that the link

>    opens in a new tab.

>    3. If the indication is text, it needs to be visible to all users.

>    4. If the indication is an icon, that icon requires either:

>       - An accessible tooltip (not just using the *title* attribute)

>       - A legend explaining the icon’s meaning on every page

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Katherine “Kate” Deibel, PhD

>

> Library Accessibility Specialist

>

> Twitter: https://twitter.com/metageeky

> GitHub: https://github.com/metageeky

>

>

>

> *From:* athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> *On

> Behalf Of *Robert Spangler

> *Sent:* Thursday, April 21, 2022 12:20 PM

> *To:* Access Technology Higher Education Network <

> athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> *Subject:* Re: [Athen] Website accessibility

>

>

>

> I'm curious to know why the practice of opening in a new link goes against

> accessibility recommendations.  As a screen reader user, the only issue I

> see is not being informed that the page opened in a new tab, and so I might

> think nothing has happened if a tab opened in the background and I wasn't

> informed.  Perhaps putting in parentheses "(opens in new tab)" somewhere,

> such as after the link text, would be a good compromise.

>

>

>

> Thanks,

>

> Robert

>

>

>

>

>

> On Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 10:55 AM Emily Singer Lucio <eslucio at umd.edu>

> wrote:

>

> Hi all.

>

>

>

> I have a question.

>

>

>

> There is some disagreement about whether links should open in a new tab (a

> marketing best practice) or not (an accessibility recommendation) -- do you

> know if there is any happy compromise there?

>

>

> Respectfully,

>

>

>

> *Emily Singer Lucio She/Her/Hers*

>

> ADA/504 Coordinator

>

> University of Maryland, College Park

>

> Office of Diversity & Inclusion

>

> 3123 Susquehanna Hall

>

> 4200 Leigh Road

>

> College Park MD 20742

>

> Tel:301 405-2841 | Fax:301 314-9992

>

> Email: eslucio at umd.edu

>

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>

>

>

> --

>

> Robert Spangler

>

> Disability Services Technical Support Specialist

>

> Office of Learning Resources

>

> Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center (LTC)

>

> Roesch Library Room: 023

>

> Phone: 937-229-2066

>

> For Deaf/Hard of Hearing, call 711 (Ohio Relay)

>

> For office hours and further OLR information, please visit

> go.udayton.edu/olr

>

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-- 
Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
Office of Learning Resources
Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center (LTC)
Roesch Library Room: 023
Phone: 937-229-2066
For Deaf/Hard of Hearing, call 711 (Ohio Relay)
For office hours and further OLR information, please visit
go.udayton.edu/olr
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this electronic message is confidential and
intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If the
reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail or
any of its components is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
email in error, please "reply" to the sender.
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