By default, Validation Text Area widgets require user input when published on a web page. You can, however, make the completion of text areas optional for the user.
To change the required status of a text area,
add the isRequired property to the constructor
and set its value to false, as follows:
<script type="text/javascript">
var ta1 = new Spry.Widget.ValidationTextarea("textareawidget1", {isRequired:false});
</script>