Technique F74:Failure of Success Criterion 1.2.2 and 1.2.8 due to not labeling a media alternative as an alternative
About this Technique
This technique relates to:
- 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded) (Failure)
- 1.2.8: Media Alternative (Prerecorded) (Failure)
This failure applies to pages that provide media alternatives to content.
Description
The objective of this failure is to avoid situations in which media alternatives are not labeled as alternatives to content. Media alternatives provide enhanced access to users for whom content in a certain format is not usable. If content is presented in an alternative format, this alternative can support users with functional limitations. Text alternatives for audio files or synchronized media make content accessible to users without or with limited hearing, while audio-only or synchronized media alternatives provide an alternative to text content for users who may have difficulties reading either due to a disability, or because they never learned to read, or because they have trouble reading while being sufficiently proficient in aural communication, which is often the case for people living in a foreign country. Alternatives need to be clearly labeled to indicate that they are alternatives, so users who normally expect alternatives can easily identify them.
Examples
Example 1
A text transcription of a podcast is provided elsewhere on page
A page contains several podcast audio files each of which has a title indicating its topic. Further down on the same page, there is a section with text transcriptions of these podcasts. The headings of the text transcriptions just contain the dates of the podcasts without referring to the podcast titles. It is therefore difficult or impossible for users to identify clearly which transcription belongs to which podcast.
Synchronized media alternatives provided elsewhere on page
A page with instructions to complete a tax form provides a prose description of the fields to complete, data to provide, etc. Additionally, a synchronized media alternative provides spoken instructions, with video of a person completing the section being discussed in the audio. Although both versions are provided on the page, the synchronized media version is provided elsewhere on the page and is not clearly labeled with the part of the text for which it is a substitute. This makes it difficult for users encountering the text to find it, and users encountering the video do not know where its text alternative is.
Tests
Procedure
- Check pages that provide media alternatives to content.
- Check that both the content and its media alternative are clearly labeled so users can associate them.
Expected Results
- If check #2 is false, then this failure condition applies and the content fails these Success Criteria.