I went back through the team b minutes and the working group minutes and surveys to find the history of changes to the color related success criteria in guideline 1.3. I'm not sure it helps to answer the question that Bruce was asking in our survey for issue 558 [1] (why is a text alternative for color not required - is making it bold sufficient?).

In January Gregg made proposal for 1.3.2 and 1.3.4: [2]
<proposal>
1.3.2 When information is conveyed by color, the color can be programmatically determined or the information is also conveyed through text. [How to meet 1.3.2] At level 2 we have 1.3.4 Any information that is conveyed by color is visually evident when color is not available. [How to meet 1.3.4] This avoids the problem of using a visual means to satisfy both L1 and L2 resulting in no way for people who are blind to be able to access the information.
</proposal>

These proposals were surveyed [3] I can't find in the minutes where this was discussed or resolved. At the at February 2 meeting 1.3.4 (with the working Gregg proposed) was moved to level 1:
resolution: 1842A accept proposal to move 1.3.4, "Any information that is conveyed by color is visually evident when color is not available" to L1
... 1.3.2 is referred back to committee to determine whether it is still required.
..
Then what was 1.3.2 and 1.3.4 were combined into what is now 1.3.2 at the March 16 meeting [4] .

Proposed wording for SC 1.3.2:

Because SC 1.3.4 has been promoted to Level 1, and because the wording of SC 1.3.1 has been changed, Team B believes that SC 1.3.2 and SC 1.3.4 should be combined:

1.3.2 Any information that is conveyed by color is visually evident without color.
Team B feels that SC 1.3.1 now covers making information conveyed by color programmatically determinable, and that making only the color programmatically determinable does not solve any accessibility problems with the current user agents.

So, it seems that the working group felt that there are other means to make something "visually evident without color" in addition to text. And, if I infer correctly, making something bold is ok as long as bold can be programmatically determined. Note that both of the sufficient techniques for 1.3.2 use text to help clarify the color. So, we probably need to clarify this with a sufficient technique that uses a means other than text to make the "information that is conveyed by color is visually evident without color."

thoughts?

[1] http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/teamcjune12006/results
[2] [2] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-wcag-teamb/2006Jan/0019.html
[3] [3] http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/SC1323wording/results
[4] http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/35422/20060316TeamB/results

Becky Gibson
Web Accessibility Architect

IBM Emerging Internet Technologies
5 Technology Park Drive
Westford, MA 01886
Voice: 978 399-6101; t/l 333-6101
Email: gibsonb@us.ibm.com