Fwd: UAAG 2.0 and UAAG 2.0 Reference published as W3C Working Group Notes

The announcement


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:  UAAG 2.0 and UAAG 2.0 Reference published as W3C Working Group 
Notes
Resent-Date:  Tue, 15 Dec 2015 21:15:37 +0000
Resent-From:  w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Date:  Tue, 15 Dec 2015 16:15:24 -0500
From:  Jeanne Spellman <jeanne@w3.org>
To:  WAI Interest Group <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
CC:  Jim Allan <jimallan@tsbvi.edu>, Judy Brewer <jbrewer@w3.org>



Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG) has
published User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG 2.0) and UAAG 2.0
Reference as W3C Working Group Notes.
http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG20/
http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG20-Reference/

UAAG 2.0 is complete. It provides specific guidance for browsers and
other user agents, and reference information for accessibility
professionals.

The UAWG has identified implementations of the features ("success
criteria") of UAAG 2.0, demonstrating that it is possible to implement
the UAAG 2.0 success criteria. The threshold for a specification
becoming a formal W3C Recommendation ordinarily involves extensive
formal testing of implementations of each success criteria across
multiple user agents -- which in the case of UAAG 2.0 would have
required manual testing of many browser user interfaces. Sufficient
testing resources were not available for this level of testing. W3C does
not currently plan to advance UAAG 2.0 to Recommendation status. W3C
plans to include user agent accessibility considerations in future
accessibility guidelines work.

UAAG 2.0 is still needed and relevant, and may be increasingly relevant
in the future. The work of the current task forces for Mobile
Accessibility and Low Vision Accessibility show the importance of
combined consideration of content, user interface, extensions,
applications and user agents. While many of the UAAG 2.0 features are
supported in individual browsers, there is a need for more consistent
and reliable support for accessibility features across all browsers and
user agents. UAAG 2.0 provides specific accessibility guidance for user
agent developers who want to build a better user experience for all.

Comments:
Comments on the Notes can be sent to public-uaag2-comments@w3.org
(Public Archive). Although the UAAG working group is closing and will
not respond, comments can provide useful input for future work in this
area.

Background:

UAAG 2.0 defines how browsers, browser extensions, media players,
readers, and other "user agents" should support accessibility for people
with disabilities and work with assistive technologies. UAAG 2.0
Reference provides additional information about the guidelines and
success criteria, including intent, examples, and resources. For more
information on UAAG and other standards from the W3C Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI), see:

* UAAG Overview <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/uaag.php>
* WAI Guidelines and Techniques <http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html>
* User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG)
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/>

URI:
The first URI above goes to the latest version of the document. The
"dated" version of this draft is:
<http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-UAAG20-20151215/> The difference between
these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines
and Technical Documents at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html>

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for
your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid
cross-postings where possible.

Regards,

Jim Allan, UAWG Chair
Jeanne Spellman, UAWG W3C Staff Contact
Judy Brewer, WAI Director

Received on Tuesday, 15 December 2015 21:26:21 UTC