Materialize: accessibility features such as aria roles

[frankis]

Great work! However, a modern css framework today must incorporate the fact that accessibility must be covered and should be a standard not a feature. Unless accessibility is covered the framework is very likely to remain used in the personal space.

[gdoron]

@acburst @Dogfalo Do you plan tackle this issue anytime soon?
We want to use your awesome work, but this is a must have feature.

We most definitely donate to the project if we'll be able to use it, but unfortunately, currently we can not as we are building a web application for people with disabilities.
https://yooocan.com

Having a non-accessible website for people with disabilities is not an option.

[Merovex]

For what it's worth, ARIA is added to HTML, not to CSS. Materialize is a CSS framework.

Nothing prevents someone from adding it into their own template. I converted my site from Bootstrap to Materialize without any significant degradation of accessibility.

Are you saying you don't know enough ARIA to add it yourself? Just asking.

Now, the Materializecss.com website has a few errors. I think we can agree that fixing the accessibility (see http://wave.webaim.org for a checker) is valuable. But I hold dubious the assertion that this CSS framework is inherently inaccessible.

There may be value to updating the examples, but that's it, IMHO.

[Merovex]

On second thought...there is javascript. Those should be validated...

[gdoron]

I'm talking about the JavaScript parts, CSS indeed has nothing to do with ARIA (though has a lot with accessibility!).

[Merovex]

Maybe it will help him if we can give him specific JS fails?

[gdoron]

Dialogs is a good example: http://materializecss.com/dialogs.html
Though I think the main issue isn't with the javascript, but with the examples.

The examples (unlike in bootstrap) don't have ARIA attributes.
Which means, everyone needs to figure it out by it owns 😢 but it's doable 😃 .

[kmmbvnr]

Duplicate #850

[Merovex]

@kmmbvnr almost a duplicate. #850 refers to Javascripts specifically, while this speaks a bit more to the examples. @frankis did a drive-by in suggesting the framework is not accessible, which tends to be a bigger issue with Javascript. However, @gdoron offered that the examples demonstrated on the site should include references to accessibility features (notably ARIA).

If I were thinking like a right-proper project manager or developer, I'd clarify this as adding accessibility to the examples.

I'm a bit more concerned that #850 is 18 months old and there is no effort in this area.

<rant>
Roughly 7 percent of the global population (that has access to the Internet) has a disability that requires modifications to technology to interact (notably screen reader or magnifiers for the legally blind, other tools for para/quadra-plegics). The fact that our web sites & applications are not conducive to that technology has been a problem. The W3C has put a lot of effort to address this discrimination via HTML and ARIA...adding features that make it easier for the technology to interact with the site so that those with disabilities.

Bootstrap has addressed this largely because the US Courts now view this as actual discrimination and major corporations are being targeted. It's already required in Europe.

I would encourage you guys to build in accessibility features so that you'll gain wider acceptance.
</rant>

[cvrebert]

Bootstrap has addressed this largely because the US Courts [...]

That is not an accurate explanation of why we added ARIA support. Fear-mongering isn't helpful.

[gdoron]

@cvrebert thanks for joining the thread!
I hope the accurate reason is: because moral.
There are millions of people with disabilities, and they deserve at least the same resources "abled" people have if not more.

That's our moral duty as human beings.

[Merovex]

My error on the rationale.

On Thu, Nov 24, 2016 at 11:11 AM, Chris Rebert [e-mail]
wrote:

Bootstrap has addressed this largely because the US Courts [...]

That is not an accurate explanation of why we added ARIA support.

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