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ceesoo) wrote in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_suggestions2012-03-25 09:51 am
Add the Display Name to the comment header
Title:
Add the Display Name to the comment header
Area:
comment pages
Summary:
There's been a lot of debate over using the username vs. the display name on icons' alt-text+hover-over tool-tip and the accessibility/usability issues that come with changing it from username to display name. This solution is a good compromise on the issue, since it puts the display name somewhere accessible to everyone: after the username in the comment header.
ETA: Also check out the comments for other ideas for implementation not covered by the suggestion. Here's the most promising one.
ALSO also, as a warning: having a display name somewhere useable is a topic people have strong feelings on. Try to be considerate in the discussions, whatever implementation you do or don't support.
ETA 2: A list of solutions proposed so far including some pros and cons of each. If you'd still like to vote, click "implement as-is" for the idea in the description below, and click "implement with changes" if you like something else on the list and comment to the main post to say which (or to the comment linked above if you like the inline reply idea).
Description:
I'd like the Comment Headers to show a user's chosen display name next to their username.
SOME BACKGROUND INFO ABOUT PAST SUGGESTIONS AND ITS ACCESSIBILITY
While many users are used to having the display name before the keywords in the hover-over tool-tip** on LJ and IJ, over here it shows the username instead. As much as I'd love replacing the username with the display name in the tool-tip, I have to concede it's a problem for screenreaders given the length of display names (which is 50 characters max. I checked). And we can't apply such a change to only the visual user's side of things because it's bad practice for different sets of information to be available to different groups of users when we're all looking at the same page.
In previously proposed ideas ( http://dw-suggestions.dreamwidth.org/609311.html ), screen readers would see something like this when reading a comment:
---------------------------------------
[Icon] This is a display name that is 50 characters long.: Description of the icon which can be fairly lengthy (Keywords which may also be fairly lengthy)
And then it reads the subject if you put one.
[Userhead] [Personal Profile] usernameis25charactersmax
date-time etc.
---------------------------------------
That first line is all one alt-text*, so I imagine the screenreader can't skip straight to the description easily, meaning people using screenreaders would have to listen to the display name every time they want to hear what the icon is of (or try to guess how many words it is to skip the display name). And while I imagine most users aren't making their display names 50 characters long, it could still get confusing when read right next to the icon description. Screenreaders would also have to skip down two lines before they'd even hear the username that all this info is associated with.
It'd be better to use something like this!
=====HOW VISUAL BROWSERS WILL SEE IT=====
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd290/ceesoo/SabraLaTau/layouts/displayname02.png
with the hover-over tool-tip reading "username: Keywords which may also be fairly lengthy (Description of the icon which can be fairly lengthy)"
=====HOW SCREENREADERS WILL SEE IT=====
[Icon] usernameis25charactersmax: Description of the icon which can be fairly lengthy (Keywords which may also be fairly lengthy)
And then it reads the subject if you put one.
[Userhead] [Personal Profile] usernameis25charactersmax (This is a display name that is 50 characters long.)
date-time etc.
---------------------------------------
This way, if they don't want to hear the username over and over I imagine it's easier to skip one word than a long name or phrase, but they can also get at the display name easily just like visual users can by skipping down to the username and display name line. Meanwhile, people on mobile devices or who just can't use hover-over for whatever reason are also able to see the display name because it doesn't require any hovering.
In terms of visual space in the comment header, I don't think 50 characters is too many, as a maximum. And anything that a user didn't fill out would simply not show up. If a user doesn't designate a display name, it'd be best not to show anything in the comment header.
TERMS
* alt-text: what screen readers hear when reading past an icon
** tool-tip/title text: that thing that shows visual users our keywords. DW has it set to contain the same info as the alt-text except in a different order, in an effort to ensure all users have an equivalent experience using the site.
SOME CONNECTED DISCUSSIONS
1) http://dw-accessibility.dreamwidth.org/18357.html
2) http://dw-suggestions.dreamwidth.org/609311.html
3) http://dw-maintenance.dreamwidth.org/44980.html?thread=1361844#cmt1361844
4) http://dw-news.dreamwidth.org/32824.html?thread=4544056#cmt4544056
This suggestion:
Should be implemented as-is.
76 (58.9%)
Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
14 (10.9%)
Shouldn't be implemented.
17 (13.2%)
(I have no opinion)
20 (15.5%)
(Other: please comment)
2 (1.6%)
Re: blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah b
Celerity:
Gradiation:
Lynx:
Celerity has the most issues with crowding. Also, it occurs to me that a potential issue here is how the "Comment successfully posted" message will appear, since in Celerity especially, this would cause the space where that normally goes to not be available anymore.