Hi Teresa, I'm no web development expert, but I believe it is because of the increasing popularity and use of AJAX. AJAX is a group of client side web development techniques. Kinda like Javascript on steroids. It allows for dynamic webpages and has been made popular primarily by Google, but also now Facebook and loads of other sites. It allows webpages to look and behave for sighted people like desktop applications, with pop-up context menus, drag and drop features and all the rest. They don't use the standard HTML elements so often don't work so well with screen readers.
I'm not sure, but I guess it's a case of the web development practice getting ahead of the standards, or simply not adhering to them. HTML5 might be the answer to this, but I"m not sure. Maybe just better compliance with web accessibility standards. Awareness raising among developers that AJAX has accessibility issues for screen readers. I know developers I've spoken to are often disappointed, because they're proud of and excited by their fancy dynamic webpages, and don't like the fact that the solution to the accessibility problem is making the website more simple, rather than some fancy complicated solution. Then again, if Apple could somehow make VoiceOver interact with AJAX better that would be great too. On 09/10/2013, at 3:21 AM, Teresa Cochran <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, all, > > I just thought I'd start a discussion on this topic, since it is something > i've been thinking about. I've noticed that since I got my Mac Mini in 2010, > that there appear to be more Javascript elements with unpredictable mouseover > and popup menus than I've experienced in the past. I'm wondering if this is > because of VO, or if there's actually an increase in this sort of thing. > > I wouldn't say that pages are inaccessible for the most part, but some > elements are extremely challenging. I just worked with my profile on > classmates.com , for example, and had to use the physical mouse to choose > both my state of residence in the uS and my birth year, instead of simply > typing it in. Facebook is a little squirrely, but I know where most of those > popups occur. Amazon is tricky, because menus pop up when you choose the > format of a book. > > Is vO simply not reporting these elements very well, and would it be a good > idea to encourage Apple developers to include further page element > descriptions? Or is this a general trend in web design toward the > not-as-useable? I know some sighted folks, including my husband, who aren't > so crazy about all the busy Javascript elements. > > Any thoughts? > > Thanks, > Teresa > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
