No subject

people on screen readers and those who use a keyboard to navigate.  =
User-spawned pop-ups *can be* made more accessible, but mostly it is =
still a new window with a "Back" button that no longer works to get them =
back to where they are.

=20
> 2. Is any research available on what happens when users w/=20
> pop-up blockers try to navigate sites w/ pop-ups intergrated=20
> into the process path, or use tools/features that are=20
> pop-ups? Google, Yahoo, etc. say their pop-up blockers spare=20
> "legitimate" pop-up windows, but has anyone heard of pop-up=20
> blockers rendering tools or processes unusable? What=20
> percentage of pop-up blocking tools are not intelligent=20
> enough to discriminate between legitimate, user-initiated=20
> pop-ups and ads? If so, are there any trends yet as to how=20
> sites are handling this growing issue?=20

Pop-up blockers are definitely causing a problem with these "legitimate" =
new windows. We're seeing an increasing amount of complaints about our =
online mortgage application, which opens in a new window.  Users with =
pop-up blockers get a blank screen and therefore cannot access the =
application at all. Ultimately, it is my opinion that NO NEW WINDOWS =
should ever be opened. We are taking steps to eliminate all new windows =
on this site, focusing instead on streamlining IA so that a new window =
is not necessary.

However, there are still instances where we need them. A lot of the =
things on our website were developed by others (read as: before me) or =
purchased by third parties. In such instances, we are beginning to make =
the necessary adjustments to make the new windows more user-friendly.  =
See below my article on "A More Accessible Pop-Up Window" which explains =
a method to make a user-spawned window open regardless of whether the =
user has JavaScript enabled or not.

Additionally, I should mention another way to do this. Basically, you =
write the popup's link with a "document.write". Then, within your =
<noscript> element, you write a redundant link.  This is the method =
we're using to fix the problem with the mortgage application.

Anyway, here's the article:

Among the many concerns of accessible design is found in "Guideline 6" =
of the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines:=20
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/#gl-new-technologies - "Ensure that pages =
are accessible even when newer technologies are not supported or are =
turned off." Simply put, you should ensure that your content remains =
accessible to those who modify their accessibility settings to disable =
scripting or whose choice of adaptive technology does not recognize =
scripting.
See also the relevant Section 508 criteria: =
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm#(l)

Popups are among the items that most often violate this accessibility =
guideline
A common pop-up window link will probably begin like this: <a href=3D"#" =
onClick=3D"window.open...... or: <a href=3D"javascript:; =
onclick=3D"window.open(.......
In both instances, the link becomes completely unusable to those with =
scripts turned off or with browsers that do not recognize JavaScript.