@emmaDawsonDev this! not naming the WCAG SCs specifically makes it super hard for me to make notes and to apply the techniques they introduce in practical scenarios.
i still struggle to understand many of the ideas they share. for example, classifying a missing title attribute on an iframe as a bypass blocks failure? what?
@emmaDawsonDev @raacz106 To be fair, the multimedia SCs are kind of a clusterfuck, even the most experienced find them hard to reconcile.
MUST is mandatory, MAY is optional, but SHOULD could be anything from “probably mandatory but it’s not quite clear” to “best practise depending on who you ask” to “ought to be mandatory but doesn’t reliably work” to “your guess is as good as mine”
@emmaDawsonDev @raacz106 Ah okay, yeah that’s bollocks, these terms relate to aspects of a particular SC, as in, whether you must do x to conform with that SC.
So yeah — all SCs are required within a specified conformance level, which in practise means — you have to satisfy all applicable A and AA criteria, but AAA is an optional ideal.
In common usage “must” and “have to” mean the same thing, but WCAG terms have contextual meanings, they’re being sloppy with language.
@emmaDawsonDev @raacz106 But to co-opt the similar language — A and AA are both “must” while AAA is “idealistic should” but “pragmatic may”.
The difference between A and AA is largely academic, there are no reasonable circumstances where you would only aim for Level A. If the course describes AA as discretionary in any sense, then it’s essentially wrong.
@SaraSoueidan @hdv I wasn't being entirely serious there, I hope the semi-sarcasm was apparent ☺️
But yeah the conceit with SHOULD is that "the full implications must be understood" rests on subjective interpretation, potentially on incomplete knowledge, and changes over time in ways that amplify or ambiguate those things.
@emmaDawsonDev @hdv @SaraSoueidan For example:
* You MUST provide text alternatives for non-text content unless exceptions apply (valid use)
* You SHOULD conform with all relevant AA criteria (invalid use, misappropriation of the term)
@siblingpastry @hdv @SaraSoueidan They are capitalized. Some examples from the audio description section I just worked through:
Prerecorded multimedia MUST include audio descriptions
Where pauses in foreground audio are insufficient to allow audio descriptions to convey the sense of the video, extended audio description SHOULD be provided for all prerecorded multimedia content
Audio descriptions MAY be provided for live multimedia content
@emmaDawsonDev @hdv @SaraSoueidan Okay this explains the confusion.
They're using "MUST" to mean "This is a AA requirement" and "MAY" to mean "This is a AAA requirement". Not quite clear on what the "SHOULD" is intended to mean, since it seems to mean "This is a AAA requirement" with some nuance that isn't stated, but probably relates to how extended AD for precorded media is easier to implement than AD for live media.
So yeah, they're misappropriating the terms.
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