disposition of ISSUE 30 cited in bug 10967 insufficient

aloha, paul!

i'm emailing this rather than adding to the specific bug you commented 
upon because the comment contained in the forwarded bug report below to be
extremely misleading, for in making longdesc obsolete, the chairs 
left HTML5 without a verbose description mechanism, which does NOT 
address the underlying problem -- that HTML5 lacks a native means of
providing verbose descriptors and that before a feature which was 
added to HTML4 expressly to enhance the accessibility of the web, which 
is an issue FAR larger than any single bug, and an issue which MUST be 
redressed before HTML5 can advance...

in commenting on bug 10967, paul wrote, on behalf of the HTML WG chairs:

---------- Forwarded Message -----------
From: bugzilla@jessica.w3.org
To: public-html-a11y@w3.org
Sent: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:05:59 +0000
Subject: [Bug 10967] Add @desclink, a description link attr. for any
embedded  element + figure

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=10967

Paul Cotton <Paul.Cotton@microsoft.com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Keywords|                            |WGDecision
             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |WONTFIX

--- Comment #8 from Paul Cotton <Paul.Cotton@microsoft.com> 2010-11-30
20:05:58 UTC ---
This bug is directly related to Issue-30:
http://www.w3.org/html/wg/tracker/issues/30

The HTML WG co-chairs believe that this bug has been addressed by the WG's
decision on ISSUE-30.

/paulc
on behalf of the HTML WG co-chairs
UNQUOTE

this is factually incorrect -- yes, the chairs decided not to use 
longdesc as a verbose descriptor for HTML5, but the chairs did NOT
suggest a substitute or improved mechanism for providing a verbose 
descriptor mechanism for HTML5

if QUOTE The HTML WG co-chairs believe that this bug has been addressed 
by the WG's decision on ISSUE-30. UNQUOTE then they are sadly mistaken, 
as there still exists a gaping hole in HTML5 that was plugged by 
LONGDESC in HTML4 -- requirements for a verbose descriptor mechanism for
HTML5 has been logged as a bug and has been identified by the HTML 
A11y TF bug-triage team as a priority, for in their disposition of
ISSUE 30, the HTML WG chairs failed to address the missing functionality 
in HTML5 due to the removal of LONGDESC 

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=10853

a fuller exploration of the issue and its potential solutions, plus 
use cases, research etc. can be found at:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/HTML/wiki/Verbose_desc_reqs

from which bug 10853 was excerpted

the failure of the HTML WG chairs to suggest or solicit a replacement
for LONGDESC has already been the foundation of at least 2 notices of
formal objections, and is a MAJOR issue blocking HTML5's progress to
Last Call -- could the chairs PLEASE stop simply citing their 
decision on ISSUE 30 as "the final word", since it clearly is not 
the final word on the issue of providing verbose descriptor since 
such a mechanism is no longer part of HTML5 as per the chairs' 
decision on ISSUE 30

thank you, gregory.
--------------------------------------------------------------
You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of
focus.                                           -- Mark Twain
--------------------------------------------------------------
Gregory J. Rosmaita: oedipus@hicom.net
   Camera Obscura: http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/
          Oedipus' Online Complex: http://my.opera.com/oedipus
--------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Tuesday, 30 November 2010 20:37:24 UTC