Re: Proposed matrix of which WCAG checkpoints are the responsibility of the authoring tool

aloha!

i concur wholeheartedly with Charles, when he writes:

quote
In reading this, I am more convinced that it is the responsibility of
individual tool developers to develop their own matrix, and of the working
group to identify techniques which can be used by developers.
unquote

that strikes me as a proper division of labor -- especially for the working
group of a vendor-neutral consortium...

if there are matrices to be built, then they need to be built off of WCAG and
UAGL, and not ATAG...  why?  WCAG details authoring practices, UAGL details the
base functionality of a rendering agent -- obviously, ATAG lies between the 2,
but WCAG is far more dependent upon the implementation of UAGL than it is on
ATAG -- an authoring tool can implement all of the accessibility features of
markup languages in whatever manner its developer deems appropriate, but, to
quote bubber miley, the original trumpeter for duke ellington's band, it don't
mean a thing if it ain't got that swing -- the crux of the matter is that user
agents MUST be capable of rendering that content, providing a means of
accessing that content, and making available all content and extended
information to third party programs such as screen readers...

i'd much rather "see" a matrix developed for UAGL along the lines i proposed at
the UA Face2Face in Redmond, in which the UAGL checkpoints would comprise one
axis, and W3C recommendations on the other, illustrating how the lion's share
of the UAGL checkpoints could be realistically satisfied in a short period of
time, simply by applying W3C recommendations that have been quote approved for
accessibility unquote

it is, i know, a chicken and egg proposition, but the only incubator that is
going to hatch this particular egg is support by user agents for the authoring
practices outlined in WCAG and the features of markup languages that have been
reviewed for accessibility...  yes, authoring tools play a crucial role in this
process, but it should NOT be the AU WG's responsibility to tell them HOW to
check for what we have already told them to check!

gregory.

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He that lives on Hope, dies farting
     -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1763
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Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
   WebMaster and Minister of Propaganda, VICUG NYC
        <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html>
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Received on Monday, 6 December 1999 12:37:07 UTC