Re: Using the terms "normative" and "informative" in EO documents

Personally,

unless we are talking legal issues - I don't think they are important.

For most people these are 'guidelines' that can be followed

those that NEED to know the difference - probably already know the  
difference.


so I would just not focus on them



Gregg
-----------------------
Gregg Vanderheiden Ph.D.
Director Trace R&D Center
Professor Ind and Biomed Engr
University of Wisconsin-Madison






On Nov 25, 2008, at 7:54 AM, Shawn Henry wrote:

>
> EOWG and others who want to comment,
>
> Question for discussion on the EOWG mailing list:
> How much should we use the terms "normative" and "informative" in  
> our basic introductory, education, and outreach material related to  
> WCAG and the other WAI technical specifications? Is it good to  
> introduce and reinforce these terms, which are used in the technical  
> documents, in our basic material? Or is it unnecessary to complicate  
> the our basic material with what is to some jargony terminology?
>
> (Note that WCAG 2.0 itself provides definitions of the terms.)
>
> Background:
>
> Last week in discussing "How to Update Your Web Site from WCAG 1.0  
> to WCAG 2.0", we considered adding these terms in: "The WCAG 2.0  
> technical standard itself is a stable, normative document that will  
> not change once it is completed. However, Understanding WCAG 2.0 and  
> Techniques for WCAG 2.0 are supporting informative resources that  
> can be updated. As technology develops, they will be enhanced with  
> additional tips, techniques, and best practices." See the next-to- 
> last paragraph in <http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/transition1to2/transition1to2-20081121.html 
> > for how it's formatted and linked.
>
> Here's an example of not using the actual terms: "Thus with WCAG  
> 2.0, there are extensive supporting materials, which are advisory  
> documents. The WCAG 2.0 guidelines document itself is the only  
> document intended to be a Web standard..." - <http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/wcag2faq#docs 
> >
>
> There are several places where we talk about the different types of  
> documents, for example:
> * Overview of WCAG 2.0 Documents (old draft) <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag20.php 
> >
> * The WCAG 2.0 Documents (old draft) http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/wcag20-docs
> * How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process:  
> <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process.php>
> * WAI-ARIA Overview <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.php>
>
> Your thoughts on whether or not we should use "normative" and  
> "informative" in some of these types of EO documents? If some but  
> not all, which?
>
> Regards,
> ~Shawn
>
> -----
> Shawn Lawton Henry
> W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
> e-mail: shawn@w3.org
> phone: +1.617.395.7664
> about: http://www.w3.org/People/Shawn/
>
>
>
>
>

Received on Tuesday, 25 November 2008 19:04:21 UTC