Add "modality" to single pointer definition with examples of single pointer interactions

[patrickhlauke]

Follow-up to #3536 (comment) to potentially address concerns by @WilcoFiers @dbjorge

Tries to more clearly differentiate "input" as in the modality from the gestures/interactions that are the result of using a particular input modality

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[patrickhlauke]

to be clearer: a tap, a swipe, a path-based gesture *is not* a "single pointer". they are examples of gestures *performed* using a single pointer

[dbjorge]

I agree with Wilco that I don't think this PR addresses the concern that Wilco and I mentioned, so I'd prefer to just close it rather than proceed with this direction if our concerns were the only thing motivating the PR.

Personally, I still think it would be easier to understand overall with a note or example (probably not a normative part of the definition) that clarifies examples of operations that can be performed using a single pointer, but I recognize @alastc 's comment here and that my position doesn't seem to be the consensus one; I can live with the already-merged change given the paragraph @alastc mentioned in the understanding document, but I think it would be easier to understand if that paragraph were less buried.

Single pointer operations include taps and clicks, double-taps and double-clicks, long presses, swiping, dragging, and path-based gestures. Gestures such as "pinch to zoom" or two-finger swipes are multipoint gestures, as they require two or more pointer inputs - in this case, two fingers on a touchscreen.

[patrickhlauke]

just on the point about "mechanism" having a different meaning in WCAG - note we already have an SC (albeit at AAA) that uses "mechanism" in the exact way it's intended here - 2.5.6 Concurrent Input Mechanisms

Although in the longer prose for the SC, it switches to "input modalities" ... so, maybe "modality" here as well, rather than mechanism? would that help?

[patrickhlauke]

if, contrary to the original consensus position, we were to expand the informative note, maybe something like this could strike the correct balance:

<p class="note">In contrast to single pointer interactions – including clicks, taps, dragging motions, and single-finger swipe gestures  – multipoint interactions involve the use of two or more pointers at the same time – such as two finger interactions on a touchscreen, or the simultaneous use of a mouse and stylus.</p>

as this then gives dragging etc only as examples, so hopefully avoids the non-sequitur we saw in #394

[alastc]

I'd suggest this to reduce the sentence complexity:

single pointer

an input that only targets a single point on the page/screen at a time – such as a mouse, single finger on a touch screen, or stylus.

Single pointer interactions include clicks, taps, dragging motions, and single-finger swipe gestures. In contrast, multipoint interactions involve the use of two or more pointers at the same time, such as two finger interactions on a touchscreen, or the simultaneous use of a mouse and stylus.

[WilcoFiers]

❤️

[bruce-usab]

Reviewed and finalized on Sep 20 TF call. Returned to the Errata for CFC column.