The 2.1.1 “specific timings” Clause

Many simplified, intro, or “plain-English” WCAG re-interpretations frame Success Criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard as ensuring a control or widget or thing can be operated with a keyboard. Some go further and also ask you to consider keyboard-like devices. Very few (I counted 1 out of 10) pay attention to the part mentioning timings (emphasis mine): All functionality of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes, except where the underlying function requires input that depends on the path of the user’s movement and not just the endpoints. Understanding SC 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A), normative text, from the W3C This might be because it’s rare to find a keyboard interface that requires the user to do a specific keystroke for a specific time. The authors of these simplified re-framings may have never even seen one before. The W3C’s 2.1.1 Understanding page explains what specific timings means: Examples of “specific timings for…