Re: [minutes] 19 May 2005 WCAG WG telecon

> >     For any technologies not in the chosen baseline, the 
> following are true:
> >
> >        1. The Web content still conforms using user agents that only 
> > support the technologies that are in the baseline (i.e. the use of 
> > technologies that are not in the baseline does not "break" access to the 
> > Web content by user agents that don't support them.)
> 
> If this is an attempt to require progressive enhancement and  graceful 
> degradation, it is extremely difficult to understand.

I think this is stronger than graceful degradation, since it requires that no functionality be lost. But I'd welcome 
improvements in worder to make this easier to understand.

> 
> >        2. All content and functionality are available using only  the 
> > baseline technologies.
> 
> But the preamble of the guideline excludes this possibility. We are 
> talking about "technologies not in the chosen baseline." Or is 
> there more  than one baseline?

This wording is supposed to be identical to the preamble, just moving it to the status of a success criterion 
instead of a definition. 

There may be different baselines, since user agent support changes over time and since different audiences 
may have access to different sets of user agents. But for any given conformance claim, there would be one 
baseline associated with the claim.

> 
> And, if take literally, this is a flat restatement of WCAG 1's  requirement 
> for every single thing to be available in anti-X that is available 
> in X.

Yes. If the author uses technologies outside the baseline, he must use techniques the produce the same content 
and functionality when there is only support available for the baseline technologies.

Received on Monday, 23 May 2005 03:30:21 UTC