Danger! ARIA tabs

This is an interesting finding in the realm of accessibility: ARIA being harmful to the experience. As I understand it, the WAI’s recommended interaction and tab flow stems from the way people using AT would tab through traditional desktop interfaces (e.g., Windows). I wonder if, as more people use the Web as their primary means of interacting with software, those mappings have become less relevant, either through loss of muscle memory in the case of long-time AT users or a lack of awareness for those who’ve only used AT since the advent of the Web and Web-based interactions (i.e., folks who’ve never had to navigate their way through complex interfaces like Windows’ Device Manager).