The message below from "Lloyd G. Rasmussen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> was forwarded by the list moderator. >I want to comment on the second issue, long URLs generated by automated >software. > >I find Cnet News <news.cnet.com> to be quite usable with Window-Eyes and >Lynx. But they have a feature whereby you can read and comment on messages >submitted by readers of the current article. Most of its output is just >fine, except for one button which allows you to submit a comment, which has >no title or alt. In the article at > >http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3310477.html?tag=st.ne.1002.lthd.1005-2 >00-3310477 >about Congress wanting to crack down on hackers, the offending link in the >"message boards" section of this story reads ><a >href="/news/reviewentry/1,10799,0-1005-602-3310477,00.html?tag=st.ne.ni.ucwy >tnav.wytfm"><img src="/Images/News/Graphics/UserReviews/button_21.gif" >width="78" height="34" align="right" border="0"></a> >in which Window-Eyes reads the unintelligible URL >news/reviewentry/1,10799,0-1005-602-3310477,00.html?tag=st.ne.ni.ucwytnav.wy >tfm >and Lynx instead parses the name of the image and provides >[button_21] as the name of the link. If this image had an alt or a title, >both programs would use it. I never until now tried to find out where this >link takes you, but using Window-Eyes to read the long URL in the midst of >intelligible text is disruptive enough that I sometimes stop the automatic >reading of the story, skip that line, then resume the read-to-end function. > > >Databases should produce alt or title attributes for all clickable images, >period. It would be even better if they meant something in the current >context. > >At 12:21 PM 10/27/00 -0400, you wrote: > >If anyone has any thoughts/comments regarding the below messages, please > >send them along. > > > >Don Barrett > > > > > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: MARC FINK [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > >Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 11:35 AM > >To: Don_Barrett; pat.sheehan; Paul_Schafer; Bruce_Bailey; > >shelia_hamblin; Michele_Zozom; Elaine_Goheen; Ron_Luycx > >Cc: Gerald_Malitz > >Subject: Re[2]: Database-driven Web pages > > > > > > > > Thanks, Don, > > > > I'm especially interested in what approaches folks have used to solve > > the following challenges: > > > > 1. When generating a linearized table dynamically, what have you found > > to be a useful method for generating cell coordinates--in other words, > > how do you get the column and row headers associated with each cell > > member? Judging from Don's comments below, perhaps it would be > > possible to pass a row header variable to each cell in addition to the > > column header. > > > > 2. What work-around has anyone found for dealing with session and > > variable ID's which are passed from one page to the next in Web > > applications like e-commerce shopping carts? As you know, these can be > > very long strings which convey little meaning to screen readers. > > > > These are sticky technical issues, but I see them as unavoidable > > considering how important database-driven Web content is. This is > > especially true when building pages that serve a search/query function > > to access large data/information resources in an efficient and > > meaningful way. > > > > Sincerely, > > Marc Fink > > > > > >______________________________ Reply Separator > >_________________________________ > >Subject: RE: Database-driven Web pages > >Author: [EMAIL PROTECTED] at INTERNET > >Date: 10/27/00 8:41 AM > > > > > >I am forwarding this message to a number of individuals on our team and on > >the Web Development team in the hopes that we can garner some additional > >interest/information on the problems raised in Mark's message below. If > >anyone has any thoughts on how we might proceed in framing this discussion, > >please share your thoughts. > > > >For example, here at Education, we have had a high degree of success with > >Cold Fusion, in that the resulting interface is HTML, and all query and > >script strings are handled without interfering with the interface. We did > >have a few applications which involved the use of complex tables which > >needed column header identifiers to be read along with cell contents by the > >screen reader in order to make the table intelligible. This was handled by > >the contractor by modifying the template so that header information would be > >dynamically generated in the table in each cell. However, this solution is > >not documented as far as I know, and it should be so others facing the same > >problem can rely on this experience for an easy solution. > > > >Thoughts? > > > >Don > > > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: MARC FINK [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > >Sent: Thursday, October 26, 2000 5:31 PM > >To: Don_Barrett; pat.sheehan > >Subject: Database-driven Web pages > > > > > > > > Dear Pat: > > > > I recently had the pleasure of meeting and talking with you at the > > IDEAS 2000 conference. (I work with the 508 team at the United States > > Postal Service.) I talked with you specifically about > > database-generated Web pages and other interactive pages such as form > > elements and links which are query strings. We agreed that these are > > areas of great concern but have not really been dealt with in-depth in > > the present guidelines. > > > > At the time I offered to pursue this issue further with you. Don > > Barrett, who works periodically here at Postal Headquarters, expressed > > a similar interest in studying this area in more detail. > > > > One goal of our mutual collaboration could be to share knowledge of > > different and successful approaches we know of--hopefully saving > > everyone time and money in the long run. > > > > Let me know what you think, and thank you for your time. > > > > Marc Fink > > Web Project Manager > > 508 Team > > USPS/LittonPRC > > 202 268-4716 > > > > >Braille is the digital divide. >Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Staff Engineer >National Library Service f/t Blind and Physically Handicapped >Library of Congress (202) 707-0535 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ><http://www.loc.gov/nls> >HOME: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://lras.home.sprynet.com> ; To UNSUBSCRIBE: Send "unsubscribe lynx-dev" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
