Why can't radio buttons be "readonly"?

Question

Radio buttons would only need to be read-only if there are other options. If you don't have any other options, a checked radio button cannot be unchecked. If you have other options, you can prevent the user from changing the value merely by disabling the other options:

<input type="radio" name="foo" value="Y" checked>
<input type="radio" name="foo" value="N" disabled>

Fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/qqVGu/

I've faked readonly on a radio button by disabling only the un-checked radio buttons. It keeps the user from selecting a different value, and the checked value will always post on submit.

Using jQuery to make readonly:

$(':radio:not(:checked)').attr('disabled', true);

This approach also worked for making a select list readonly, except that you'll need to disable each un-selected option.

This is the trick you can go with.

<input type="radio" name="name" onclick="this.checked = false;" />

I have a lengthy form (250+ fields) that posts to a db. It is an online employment application. When an admin goes to look at an application that has been filed, the form is populated with data from the db. Input texts and textareas are replaced with the text they submitted but the radios and checkboxes are useful to keep as form elements. Disabling them makes them harder to read. Setting the .checked property to false onclick won't work because they may have been checked by the user filling out the app. Anyhow...

onclick="return false;"

works like a charm for 'disabling' radios and checkboxes ipso facto.