* Difficulty: medium (requires large changes to tables, editors seem reluctant to split tables, needs more testing and feedback)
Do not place column headers in the middle of a table to visually separate the table. AssistivetechnologiesFor willexample, geta confusedscreen asreader theyreading cannotthe knowcell which"Stuttgart, previousGermany" might associate the cell with the following headers: still"Venue, Representing Soviet Union, Representing Belarus". Three headers are read aloud. The first and the third are correct and expected. But "Representing Soviet Union" does not apply to partsthe lower half of the table, afterand a machine does not understand that. Thus, a machine will not be able to associate header and cells correctly, and will provide misleading information about the firsttable structure to the oneuser.{{dubious}}
For example, a screen reader reading the cell "Stuttgart, Germany" might associate the cell with the following headers: "Venue, Representing Soviet Union, Representing Belarus". Three headers are read aloud. The first and the third are correct and expected. But "Representing Soviet Union" does not apply to the lower half of the table, and a machine does not understand that. Thus, a machine will not be able to associate header and cells correctly, and will provide misleading information about the table structure to the user.
In most cases, the easier solution is to split the table into several sub-tables with explanatory sub-headings (second example).
