Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Accessibility

"WT:ACCESS" redirects here. For the related wikiproject talk page, see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Accessibility.

"WT:COLOR" and "WT:COLOUR" redirect here. For WikiProject Color's talk page, see Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Color.

Other lang wrapping in headers

Could you remind me of how to format non-English text in headers? We can't wrap with {{lang}}. May also be good to mention this in this page seefooddiet (talk) 06:50, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

@Seefooddiet: By "headers", do you mean header cells in tables, or section headings? --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 17:04, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Section headings. Also I figured it out; we're supposed to use <span lang="langtaghere">foo</span>.

Something I'm still uncertain about is whether we're allowed to use non-Latin text in headers at all. Is there any scenario where non-Latin text in headers would be beneficial? seefooddiet (talk) 17:08, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

There are no restrictions on the language of heading text. There is Latin text in Habeas corpus#World habeas corpus. Please note the difference between headers - the first cell in a table's column or row - and headings - the larger-type line at the start of a section. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 20:25, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Huh TIL on header/headings, will keep in mind seefooddiet (talk) 20:26, 10 April 2025 (UTC)

Whether refs need to comply with ACCESS

Please join Wikipedia talk:Citing sources#Conforming citations to Wikipedia style, where we are talking about whether citations are usually exempt from from the Manual of Style vs are usually not exempt by default. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:44, 20 April 2025 (UTC)

Image section: limit or disallow image borders

As example, using handheld device to view the pictures at Northern cardinal § Ecology. Images are morphed by the surrounding border, forcing extra clicks by the user. This border serves no purpose other than detraction. Style guide should recommend removal.TomStonehunter (talk) 13:34, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Please explain the issue more clearly.EEng 13:58, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Specifically, on my Google Pixel 6a, viewing the current 3 images in Northern cardinal#Ecology produces 3 vertically stacked image fields. Each image field measures 58 x 23 mm. Of that 58 mm width, 40 mm is filled with a light gray border leaving the jpeg only 18 mm viewable width. Each displayed jpeg measures 18 x 11 mm in size, thus is being limited to only 15% of its potential size (58 x 23) due to the border. Suggestion is to eliminate border use to improve visual accessibility. TomStonehunter (talk) 17:45, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Can confirm for desktop Firefox: gallery box is 155px square, and the thumbnail displayed is 120px wide. Apart from the hardcoding of pixel sizes, filling the box should be a nobrainer when you have a box. Paradoctor (talk) 17:59, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Paraphrasing, if you use a box (laptop, desktop or tower) everything is fine. Ignore any smart phone user issues. Really? Thot I read in some WP image guide to consider user devices. TomStonehunter (talk) 18:25, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Pretty sure you misread my comment. AGF FFS Paradoctor (talk) 19:50, 2 May 2025 (UTC)

Mobile device view of various Wikipedia gallery modes

Here's a smartphone screenshot comparison of image border removal. The Northern cardinal article has been updated using gallery's "mode=packed" attribute, providing a noticeable accessibility improvement for 21% of Wikipedia's readers (anno 2011), the then current rate of Wikipedia articles' smartphone accesses. The 2025 smartphone user access rate is unknown.

I plan to add the gallery "mode=packed" recommendation in the MOS article's Images section, along with the other "Avoidance" suggestions; it appears to offer a no-harm, visual improvement. The screenshot views will also be added in MOS as examples. Comments? TomStonehunter (talk) 18:22, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

Fine with me. Paradoctor (talk) 19:12, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

There are (hopefully!) many more instances of galleries being formed using {{gallery}} rather than raw HTML. At present, mode=packed is an opt-in choice. I wonder how much trouble it would cause it it were to be made the default, requiring opt-out where it is a problem? 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 20:57, 5 May 2025 (UTC)

FYI, checking Template:Gallery, it advises caution as over 15,000 pages use {{gallery}}. Personally though, having a larger image is more beneficial than a decorative border.TomStonehunter (talk) 15:37, 6 May 2025 (UTC)

References

Level 1 headings

There is currently discussion about a clash between practice and policy at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Layout § Level 1 headings. Paradoctor (talk) 13:36, 4 May 2025 (UTC)

COLHEAD

This concerns MOS:COLHEAD. WP:TV display episode tables and entries as such:

No. story	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)	AI
Special
312	–	"Joy to the World"	Alex Sanjiv Pillai	Steven Moffat	25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)	5.91	76
The Doctor arrives at the Time Hotel, an establishment that allows visits to historical points. The Doctor enlists the aid of Trev, a hotel employee, as he investigates a mysterious briefcase. [...]

In a recent FLC nomination, the usage of {{Episode table/part}} (the "Special" row) was suggested against, as it was in violation of COLHEAD. My question is, how is that particular colspan'ing "Special" row any different to the colspan'ing summary row directly below the episode details? -- Alex_21 _TALK 06:58, 17 May 2025 (UTC)

@Alex 21: Here's the HTML for the above, stripped down to just the first cell in each row, and most attributes removed:

<table class="wikitable plainrowheaders wikiepisodetable" style="width:100%">
  <tbody>
    <tr><th><abbr title="Number">No.</abbr><br>story</th></tr>
    <tr><td id="Special"><b>Special</b></td></tr>
    <tr><th scope="row">312</th></tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <div class="shortSummaryText" style="max-width:90vw;position:sticky;left:0.2em">
          <a href="/wiki/Fifteenth_Doctor" title="Fifteenth Doctor">The Doctor</a> arrives at the Time Hotel, an establishment that allows visits to historical points. The Doctor enlists the aid of Trev, a hotel employee, as he investigates a mysterious briefcase. [...]
        </div>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

The problem, as I see it, is that in the first column there is a <th>...</th> element below a <td>...</td> element. --Redrose64 🌹 (talk) 13:13, 17 May 2025 (UTC)

Oops, forgot about this. So, the issue isn't the Special row at all? It's the 312 (<th>...</th>) after the Special row (<td>...</td>)? If the 312 <th>...</th> was updated to 312 <td>...</td>, this would allow the Special row? -- Alex_21 _TALK 04:18, 1 June 2025 (UTC)

Syntax aside, the visual problem is that the "Special" and summary row dont match the column headers. The problem is compounded if one tries to programmatically parse the data, such as with screen readers. —Bagumba (talk) 04:58, 1 June 2025 (UTC)

So, if they matched column headers, COLHEAD would no longer be applicable here? I'm attempting to make them match accessibility standards, and be able to restore them to featured lists that have required their removal. -- Alex_21 _TALK 00:35, 2 June 2025 (UTC)

That's my basic understanding. Optionally consider denoting a special with an asterisk, dagger, etc. explained in legend, or placing the episode summary as regular prose outside the table. —Bagumba (talk) 01:54, 2 June 2025 (UTC)

Separating parts with {{Episode table/part}} is standard in WP:TV, and the episode summary outside is not possible due to the nature of the {{Episode list}} template, which includes multiple episodes and summaries after each other.

To confirm, would the "Special" colspan'ing row need to be <th>...</th>, or would the 312 cell need to be <td>...</td>? -- Alex_21 _TALK 04:37, 2 June 2025 (UTC)

Indentation within quotes

Suppose that within a Template:Blockquote, there's something that requires indentation - perhaps because the quote is quoting something, or the quote include a poem, etc. Suppose further that this should play nicely with all editors and be consistent - perhaps there are multiple quotes on the page with indented sections within them, and we want to easily ensure the indents all line up across the page. Is there an accepted way to do this? As best I can tell, the only good option is colons a la talk pages (despite this being discouraged as they're not really definition list items). Trying to throw a wild <div style="margin-left: 5m;" >Stuff</div> in the middle doesn't work and wouldn't play nicely with VE even if it did, so that seems out. To be clear, I'm fine with using colons, but just curious if this has come up before. SnowFire (talk) 01:16, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

This isn't an accessibility question. Perhaps ask at Wikipedia:Help desk? Largoplazo (talk) 03:42, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

MOS:INDENTGAP is indeed on this page, which has about the most detailed guidance we have on indents, so I disagree that this is the wrong place for it. (Wikipedia:Indentation is about talk pages, not prose in article space.) SnowFire (talk) 14:38, 4 June 2025 (UTC)