Principles

Principle 1: Design content which can be presented visually, auditorily or 
tactually, according to the needs and preferences of the user.

Principle 2: Separate content and structure from presentation, and ensure 
that significant structural or semantic distinctions are captured 
explicitly in markup, or in a data model.

Principle 3: Design for ease of comprehension, browsing and navigation

Principle 4: Design user interfaces for device independence.

Principle 5: Design content to be compatible with the features and 
capabilities of user agents, including those which only support older 
technologies or standards.

There. By looking at them this way (without the lower-echelon stuff) we can 
make certain judgements more readily.
Are they parallel - i.e. are they of comparable gravity, one to the others?
Are they inclusive?

At first blush I feel that 4 & 5 are implicit in 1, particularly if it is 
reworded somewhat? In some sense the "user" of  1 is the "device" of 4 and 
its "needs and preferences" are the "features and capabilities" of 5?

If these principles, as I believe, are to be gathering points for the 
guidelines proper (those vulgar representations of the worldly 
manifestation of these mighty ideals), they should be very general as well 
as abstract. To have these 3 or 5 or whatever "principles" serve this 
function will necessitate deciding which "guideline" belongs under which 
"principle" so that we need not drag Charles across his "over my dead body" 
position about the numbering more closely resembling that of WCAG 1 (to 
avoid confusing his correspondents?). Are the principles to be relegated to 
preface materials or is it important to have them inform the entire 
document? I favor the latter but will not go to war over it. The numbering 
still mattereth not. The principles are the bases of this thing and they 
seem to me to be what we mean by "normative". I also think the "techniques" 
will be fairly stable. The "examples" could affect the "guidelines" but are 
quite unlikely to have much impact on the "principles".

That's my morning tuppence worth from where the mountain forest meets the 
sagebrush desert in the wilds of Central Washington.

--
Love.
                 ACCESSIBILITY IS RIGHT - NOT PRIVILEGE

Received on Friday, 15 September 2000 10:51:25 UTC