Please Vote: Process for new guidelines and rules [was Re: Guidelines Implementation

Al's observation suggests the following process:

1. We only include in our recommendations checks that are presently in the
guidelines or techniques document.

2. If we have a suggestion for additional rules or guidance, we bring them
to the attention of the author guidelines (AG) group.

3. When AG puts it in the document, we then add it to our techniques doc.

4. Discussions about pros and cons of new guidelines/suggestions would take
place in AG space.

For starters
All in favor email "Aye"
All opposed email "Nay"

If there are any "Nays" lets etalk about it.

Len


At 09:34 AM 5/21/99 -0400, Al Gilman wrote:
>At 01:41 PM 5/20/99 -0400, Bruce Bailey wrote:
>>To your Check Point 1.1A:
>>Valid ALT text:
>>Allowed - ALT attribute value of "" 
>>Only IF (NOT inside of A HREF) OR link is also referenced via text.  This
>>can be tested by algorithm, so it is either allowed or not allowed.  (Human
>>intervention/consideration is NOT needed.)
>
>I believe that human consideration is always advisable for ALT="".  You can
>test for situations where it is definitely bad, but you can't test
>automatically for where it is good.
>
>>Suggested for discussion:
>>ALT="" is NOT allowed.  (This rule is much simpler!)  ALT=" " is
>>permissible as an alternative.
>>ALT=" " is treated as "suspicious" and generates a warning to the effect
>>of: "Is this graphic purely decoration and devoid of content?"
>>
>
>It seems to be the small differences that generate the most heat.  This is
>one of those.  After much digging I found what I believe to be the clearest
>statement of the conclusion that was reached on this topic in the GL group:
>
><http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wai-gl-techniques-19980918.html#spacer-images>
>
>That is to say, ALT="" has not been disallowed because there are cases
>where it is the best practice.  Admittedly some of the argument hangs on
>the fact that we can't rely on stylesheets to make layout tables obsolete
>until they are better supported in user agents.  But all that reasoning
>still stands.
>
>The problem is, nowhere in the RECcommendation that Tim signed is this
>explicitly stated.  It takes a) searching the working group archives and b)
>authentication by the chairs that this decision was made and then not
>reconsidered and overturned by a later deliberation of the group, to bring
>the consensus resolution to light.
>
>This is why I was emphasizing the need for a strong GL presence in the
>process of "life after REC" including this step of detailing the
>automatable tests related to the checkpoints and how they are related.
>
>Al
>
>
>>Rational:
>>With the Lynx text browser, ALT="" hides the image (and any embeded link). 
>>The image is completely invisible unless one issues a "view source"
>>command.  Any associate link is likewise invisible, unless one issues a
>>"view links" command.  (Exception: iff ALL links on a page are hidden in
>>this way, Lynx will generate a warning message.)
>>ALT=" " will generate [ ] in Lynx.  This might be viewed as unattractive
>>and pointless, but at least the user knows that something is there.  If the
>>[ ] is part of a link, it will (with the default settings) be assigned a
>>link number and is (in any case) be able to be selected and activated as is
>>the case with any other hypertext link.
>>
>>Bruce Bailey, DORS Webmaster
>>http://www.dors.state.md.us/
>>410/554-9211
>>
>>----------
>>From: Chris Ridpath <chris.ridpath@utoronto.ca>
>>To: WAI ER IG List <w3c-wai-er-ig@w3.org>
>>Subject: Guidelines Implementation
>>Date: Tuesday, May 18, 1999 1:55 PM
>>
>>Hello all,
>>
>>As part of the evaluation and repair process, we need to create a set of
>>specifications for implementing the WAI page author guidelines. The specs
>>would be used by A-Prompt and Bobby in the design of our software. The
>>specs should be written with the following goals:
>>
>>- precise enough for use by software programmers
>>- simple enough for everyone to understand and comment upon
>>- complete implementation of the WAI page author guidelines
>>
>>I've started a document that might fulfil these goals and would like your
>>comments and suggestions. The doc is stored at:
>>http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/Implementation.html
>>
>>This document is not complete and is a rough first draft!
>>
>>I would like to see the document finished reasonably soon (end of June
>>perhaps) so that we can code the software.
>>
>>Please take a look and let me know if you have any comments.
>>
>>Chris
>> 
>
>
>
-------
Leonard R. Kasday, Ph.D.
Universal Design Engineer, Institute on Disabilities/UAP, and
Adjunct Professor, Electrical Engineering
Temple University

Ritter Hall Annex, Room 423, Philadelphia, PA 19122
kasday@acm.org        
(215} 204-2247 (voice)
(800) 750-7428 (TTY)

Received on Friday, 21 May 1999 11:21:33 UTC