Unclear instructions for RWD (Beta) / Learn Accessibility by Building a Quiz / Step 38

Affected page

RWD (Beta) / Learn Accessibility by Building a Quiz / Step 38

Explanation

The final instructions for this step say:

“Then, give the textarea placeholder text describing an example answer.”

Since the instructions mention “placeholder” I think it is safe to assume that some people will think they should use the placeholder attribute on the textarea to fulfill this requirement. But the code check test checks the textContent of the textarea:

assert.notEmpty(document.querySelectorAll('div.answer')?.[1]?.querySelector('textarea')?.textContent);

So using the placeholder attribute will result in the following hint:

“You should give the textarea placeholder text describing an example answer.”

Which does not make it clear that the example answer should be embedded in the textarea instead of using the placeholder attribute.

Based on the current instructions I think most users will assume that the placeholder attribute should be used to complete this step and the test should be updated accordingly.

System

• Device: Desktop
• OS: Linux/Fedora 34
• Browser: Firefox
• Version: 95.0.2

[bbsmooth]

Perfect. I’ll submit a PR for this in just a bit.

[ShaunSHamilton]

Thank you, for opening this.

When I wrote this, I vaguely remember reading a resource mentioning using the placeholder attribute on textarea was not the recommended approach. However, as I cannot find that, I agree using the placeholder attribute in this case seems like the better option.

Yes, this will require a rewrite for all subsequent lessons. However, this usually is a simple Find and Replace.