Re: minority opinions

pjenkins@us.ibm.com wrote:
> 
> gregory wrote:
> >therefore, jutta, i'd ask that -- on this issue at least -- that the votes
> >against moving the guideline from the front to the back be considered a
> very
> >strong minority opinion, and not just a resolution that was not
> unanimous...
> >
> 
> Jutta wrote:
> >... Minority opinions are opinions that would stop the document
> >from going forward. Therefore,...
> 
> Gregory, are you reversing your opinion/resolution that the document should
> NOT go forward to proposed recommendation?  It is implied that you are but
> you didn't explicitly say it.

Hello,

It would seem that we have to decide what will bring the greater
benefit:

1) Putting Guideline 7 up front.
2) Publishing the Guidelines as a Proposed Rec as soon as posssible.

I believe that the benefit of the former option is vastly inferior to
the 
benefit of the latter. I believe this because:

 a) Guideline 7 is in the document, after all. We have little evidence
that
   it is invisible to readers in position 7.

 b) Efforts have been made in prose, in the goals, etc. to emphasize
   the importance of the tool's accessibility. It will not escape the
   reader's attention that the tool must be accessible.

 c) A Recommendation in which compromise has been struck beats no
Recommendation.
    I don't think that this particular compromise  - one of position in 
    a scheme where position should not matter - undermines the document
or
    weakens its impact. In particular, conformance is not weakened by
the 
    guideline's position. 

 - Ian

-- 
Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel/Fax:                     +1 212 684-1814
Cell:                        +1 917 450-8783

Received on Monday, 25 October 1999 20:05:12 UTC