CSS Scrollbars 2021-08-29 > 2021-09-30

[frivoal]

In the issue title above add the document name followed by the date of this request, then the date of your proposed deadline for comments.

• name of spec to be reviewed: CSS Scrollbars Level 1

• URL of spec: https://www.w3.org/TR/css-scrollbars-1/

• What and when is your next expected transition?
  We're planing to go to CR soon, for a loosely defined value of soon. As soon as HR completes, unless something unexpected shows up.

• What has changed since any previous review? I am unsure that there was a previous review for a11y

• Please point to the results of your own self-review (see https://w3c.github.io/apa/fast/checklist.html): [css-scrollbars-1] a11y self review csswg-drafts#6555

• Where and how to file issues arising? https://github.com/w3c/csswg-drafts/labels/css-scrollbars-1

• Pointer to any explainer for the spec? https://github.com/felipeerias/css-scrollbars-explainer

Other comments:

There is one issue relating to a11y that is worth drawing attention to: w3c/csswg-drafts#6351
There, it was requested that the CSS-WG considers expanding the scrollbar-width property to enable authors to request wide scrollbars, among other things for accessibility reasons. The CSS-WG considered that case, and concluded that while wide scrollbars was a legitimate things for users to want, it did not follow that control over this aspect should be given to authors. User controls and preferences over UI should be available, but that is a matter of browser settings, not of CSS. Further thoughts are documented in the issue and the minutes attached.

[johnfoliot]

Personal Opinion

The CSS-WG considered that case, and concluded that while wide scrollbars was a legitimate things for users to want, it did not follow that control over this aspect should be given to authors.

Respectfully, if this were the case, then why are you providing a mechanism for the author to declare them "thinner"? By currently allowing the author to modify the scrollbar width via this spec, you are only permitting for the scrollbars to be resized (re-width'd?) in one direction (thinner), but not in the 'other' direction (wider - despite both a legitimate use-case and agreement from CSS-WG that this is important for the end user).

Name: | scrollbar-width
Value: auto | thin | none

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, user-supplied style-sheets is a critical consideration for some users with disabilities (low vision, or here reduced mobility/lack of fine motor control), where the end-user is also the author (of their necessary custom CSS), and so the mechanism for accommodating those users MUST be to allow them to declare the scrollbars wider than what the author proposed.

I personally consider this a BLOCKER for advancing this spec.

[johnfoliot]

MyPersonalAccommodationNeeds.css

body {scrollbar-width: wide!important;}

[michael-n-cooper]

Relates to w3c/a11y-review#85

[michael-n-cooper]

Relates to w3c/csswg-drafts#3315

[michael-n-cooper]

Issues already under discussion, so no need for generic review.