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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Frankly, I would pushback hard on the marketing claim and inquire why opening in a new tab is a best practice? In general,
<a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/new-browser-windows-and-tabs/">user experience studies</a> find that users get greatly annoyed when this happens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">However, you can do this accessibly. The following is my recommendation that goes beyond WCAG to support various cognitive issues as well:<br>
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<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">The following must be done absolutely consistently.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Every</span></u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"> link should have an accessible indication
that the link opens in a new tab.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">If the indication is text, it needs to be visible to all users.
<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">If the indication is an icon, that icon requires either:<o:p></o:p></span></li><ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">An accessible tooltip (not just using the
<i>title</i> attribute)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">A legend explaining the icon’s meaning on every page<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
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<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Katherine “Kate” Deibel, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Library Accessibility Specialist<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif">Twitter:
<a href="https://twitter.com/metageeky"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://twitter.com/metageeky</span></a><br>
GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/metageeky"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://github.com/metageeky</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> athen-list <athen-list-bounces@mailman12.u.washington.edu>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Robert Spangler<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, April 21, 2022 12:20 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list@u.washington.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Athen] Website accessibility<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Robert<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 10:55 AM Emily Singer Lucio <<a href="mailto:eslucio@umd.edu">eslucio@umd.edu</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi all.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I have a question. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">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?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222">Respectfully, </span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#222222"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222">Emily Singer Lucio She/Her/Hers</span></b><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222">ADA/504 Coordinator</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222">University of Maryland, College Park</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222">Office of Diversity & Inclusion</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222">3123 Susquehanna Hall</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222">4200 Leigh Road</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222">College Park MD 20742</span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial Narrow",sans-serif;color:#222222"><a href="Tel:301">Tel:301</a> 405-2841 | Fax:301 314-9992 </span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black">Email: <a href="mailto:eslucio@umd.edu" target="_blank">eslucio@umd.edu</a></span><span style="color:#222222"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
athen-list mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu" target="_blank">athen-list@mailman12.u.washington.edu</a><br>
<a href="http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list" target="_blank">http://mailman12.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/athen-list</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">-- <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Robert Spangler<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Disability Services Technical Support Specialist<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Office of Learning Resources<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center (LTC)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Roesch Library Room: 023<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: 937-229-2066<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For Deaf/Hard of Hearing, call 711 (Ohio Relay)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">For office hours and further OLR information, please visit <a href="http://go.udayton.edu/olr" target="_blank">
go.udayton.edu/olr</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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