Mozilla content keyboard navigation proposal - feedback sought ASAP!

[Peter Korn <Peter Korn Sun COM>]

Greetings,

One of the key accessibility issues in Mozilla is the lack of a workable 
keyboard navigation scheme for navigating web content.  This is both a 
fundamental accessibility requirement (as specified by Section 508 1194.21[a]) 
- as selecting text to copy to the clipboard is a "product function" which 
must be "executable from a keyboard"; and it is also one way for a screen 
reader user to browse the web - with their screen reader speaking/Brailling 
the letter/word/line/sentence/table-cell that they have moved the caret to as 
appropriate for their movement.

After reviewing a number of the keyboard navigation schemes used to browse the 
web today, and also the keyboard navigation mechanisms of the Windows and 
GNOME desktops, Sun is putting forth a proposal for keyboard navigation of web 
content in Mozilla/gecko.

Interested parties are strongly encouraged to read the proposal, at:

  http://www.mozilla.org/access/unix/keyboardproposal.html

and send comments to this e-mail thread at <mozilla-accessibility mozilla org> 
which is probably the most appropriate place for the discussion (though I'm 
sending this announcement to a far wider set of aliases).

We are keen to implement (or see implemented) as much of a workable keyboard 
navigation scheme as soon as possible - too many people have waited too long 
for this to work.  We want to have something ready for use in a small number 
of months.  We request that all interested parties review the proposal and 
send their comments to the Mozilla accessibility list by Friday 24 September.


Thank you,

Peter Korn
Sun Accessibility team

P.S. please feel free to forward this announcement and solicitation for review 
on to other individuals and mailing lists, but please direct discussion to 
<mozilla-accessibility mozilla org>