# Understanding Interruptions

## In brief

Goal
  Users are not interrupted.
What to do
  Let people delay or turn off updates, except in emergencies.
Why it's important
  Updates distract and disrupt assistive technology users and people with attention deficits.

## Intent of Interruptions

The intent of this Success Criterion is to allow users to turn off updates from the author/server except in emergencies. Emergencies would include civil emergency alert messages or any other messages that warn of danger to health, safety, or property, including data loss, loss of connection, etcetera.

This allows access by people with cognitive limitations or attention disorders by enabling them to focus on the content. It also allows users who are blind or have low vision to keep their "viewing" focus on the content they are currently reading.

## Benefits of Interruptions

- Individuals with attention deficit disorders can focus on content without distraction.
- Individuals with low vision or who use screen readers will not have content updated while they are viewing it (which can lead to discontinuity and misunderstanding if they start reading in one topic and finish in another).

## Examples of Interruptions

Example 1. Setting user preferences
  The preferences page of a Web portal includes an option to postpone all updates and alerts until the end of the current session, except for alerts concerning emergencies.

## Resources for Interruptions

## Techniques for Interruptions

### Sufficient Techniques for Interruptions

- Providing a mechanism to postpone any updating of content
- G76: Providing a mechanism to request an update of the content instead of updating automatically
- Using scripts to make non-essential alerts optional

### Additional Techniques (Advisory) for Interruptions

### Failures for Interruptions

- Failure due to using meta redirect with a time limit
- Failure due to using meta refresh with a time limit