39. User Content

Allow & encourage accessibility in content provided by users

When end users (e.g. students, instructors) can upload or create content, allow and facilitate alternatives for non-text content (e.g. alt-text for images, captions and audio descriptions for video, transcripts for audio) and, where significant text editing is possible, semantic markup (e.g. headings, data tables, and lists).

Rationale

This helps users with disabilities access information provided by fellow users.

General Techniques

Generating Information

If possible, automatically generate alt-text, transcripts, captions and/or audio descriptions. Most often, this is not possible today. But, in some cases it is, for example:

If a profile photo that the user uploads is used to represent the user without accompanying onscreen text, the user’s name might be used as alt-text.
If a user creates an avatar or another object using tools within your product, the physical characteristics that the user chooses might be used to generate alt-text for the avatar or object.
If a user can choose a voice and type what the voice should say, a transcript can be automatically generated.

Collecting Information

Allow users to enter or upload alt-text or transcripts.
Allow users to indicate if non-text content is purely decorative and should be skipped by screen readers.
Allow users to upload multimedia that includes captions and audio description. (And/or provide a service that adds these features.)
Automatically detect which accessibility features are available and/or allow users to indicate which accessibility features they’ve added.

Displaying Alternatives

When displaying user-provided content, include alternatives for non-text content, as described in Pearson Guideline 27, Pearson Guideline 28, & Pearson Guideline 34.
If the non-text content is known to be decorative, employ the techniques described in Pearson Guideline 32.
If applicable, allow users to search for content based on accessibility features. For example, when searching a database of educational video, students might be given the option to indicate that captioned video should be given priority in search results.

Testing

Testing technique	Description
Review	Identify any features that allow users to upload content.
Analysis	Make sure that users are able to upload accessibility features (e.g. alt-text for images, captions and audio descriptions for video, transcripts for audio) with their media.

Related Guidelines

Pearson Guideline 39 reflects the spirit of the W3C’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.0, but is simplified for basic end-user Web 2.0 features.