[orca-list] The use case(s) for "frozen" flat review?

[Joanmarie Diggs <jdiggs igalia com>]

Hey all.

Periodically someone raises the issue that Orca fails to preserve the
flat review context when the content of the stuff being reviewed
changes. This is not something I can just wave a magic wand and fix
without knowing what the actual use cases are. It would be helpful if
you could share them with me. But first, I'd ask you to consider the
following:

* The purpose of flat review is to show you what is on screen in the
  current window. Like a photo. In other words, what sighted users see.
  If we freeze flat review, making some of you very happy, and the
  stuff you are reviewing scrolls off the screen (e.g. in a chat window
  after more content comes in), I'd bet money that someone else comes
  along and calls your feature a bug because Orca was lying to them
  about what was showing.

* One of the features of flat review is to make it possible to
  synthesize mouse clicks. If the flat review context is frozen, but
  the screen contents change, when you click one of the following can
  happen: You click on some totally different object -- the one that
  has since moved into view at the coordinates in question -- which
  might have undesirable consequences if it's a widget or link you
  didn't know was there. Alternatively, Orca could try to activate
  the accessible object associated with the flat review context. But
  if that accessible is associated with a widget that no longer exists,
  there's a chance Orca will crash your app.

Keeping the above in mind, please explain to me what it is you wish to
accomplish with a "frozen" flat review so that we can try to find a way
to address your needs without causing the problems described above.
Maybe flat review as it was envisioned isn't what anyone wants at all.
Or maybe what you want is a very valid and cool feature that ain't flat
review, but something entirely different which would exist in addition
to flat review. I'd love to know which it is. <smiles>

Thanks!
--joanie