Re: Summary & Minutes of Silver Content meeting of 28 January 2020

 In the document:https://raw.githack.com/w3c/silver/conformance-js-dec/guidelines/explainers/ClearWords.html
  there may be testability issues with the word "easily"  - could be subjective.    How about just "Use Clear Language That Is Understandable" for generality and simplicity - that is the goal, right, for everyone - including those with disabilities? 
 Under "Test and Audit"  of the document, one way of assessing understandability may be that users (including some with disabilities)  could be asked to complete a task where an understanding of  information conveyed by the clear words is necessary to successfully complete the task, and evaluating/comparing the results.  

Under "Tests" in "Edit Text With Clear Language", numbers 1 and 2 seem too weak and vague in comparison to number 3 - need to be strengthened and clarified if any one can be used for sufficiency.  Will think more about these and propose some changes.

Some other resources (just passing along) that may help in assessing understandability are:.
Eight Questions to Determine Whether Your Content Is Understandable: 
 http://thecontentauthority.com/blog/determine-whether-your-content-is-understandable
Perusal of Readability With Focus on Web Content Understandability: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319157817303622
Test Your Site With Users With Limited Literacy Skills: 
https://health.gov/healthliteracyonline/test/section-6-4/
Readability and Understandability: Different Measures of the Textual Complexity of Accounting Narrative: 
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09513579210019549/full/html
Readability and Understandability of Andrology Questionnaires: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6469730/
Writing Understandable Content for a Large Audience.  Here's How to do it. :https://www.textmetrics.com/writing-understandable-content-for-a-large-audience-heres-how-to-do-it

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SIDE NOTE: Although not directly related to accessibility, an author, when attempting to make content more accessible by converting more hard-to-understand words to clear words, should take carel that the meaning of what's being conveyed isn't inadvertently/subtly changed in the conversion. For example, in converting the phrase "it is mandatory for all personnel to disembark from the transport vehicle" to "everyone must get out of the car", specialization has occurred (there is more than one type of transport vehicle besides a car).  Perhaps an advisory note could be added to the Clear Words Guideline to make this point.









    On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, 10:41:36 AM EST, Jeanne Spellman <jspellman@spellmanconsulting.com> wrote:  
 
   
== Summary ==
 
Kim put hours into the survey design.  We will send to the AGWG and Silver list on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Send comments to Jeanne by Tuesday night.  Suggestions were made to shorten the survey.  
 
 
Updates from subgroups: Alt text will have the Techniques updated by next Tuesday.  Clear Language has completed their work.  There were suggestions from the group for changes: 
 
    
   - Avoid repetition and use more cross-referencing.  It's a chicken-egg problem because we don't have the material written yet to cross-reference to.     
 
   - Add a tab that lists all the Methods. There needs to be a fast way for people who want to get to the Methods to get to that quickly.    
 
   - Get more design help.  Design help is in progress. We need to schedule usability testing.     
 
   - Move the Guideline name above the tabs so it isn't repeated in every tab. Jeanne will do.
   - Suggest describing the Activity instead of having the guideline in the box.     
 
   - Add H1 and change name to Clear Language Guidance for the H1 and title.    
 
   - Change the guideline to make it more obvious that it applies to blocks of text and isn't addressing labels.
 
There was discussion of the guideline text, which is the last to be written.  "Use clear language that readers easily understand." We had a discussion of "easily understand".  Some felt that "easily" could not be used in a legal context.  One suggestion was to make it comparative, "more easily".  The defense of easily is that it is used by the American Bar Association:  "The goal is to create a clear and concise document that is easily understood.” -Better legal Writing-American Bar Association
 
== Minutes ==
 
https://www.w3.org/2020/01/28-silver-minutes.html