Suggests defining in terms of Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRIs) rather than URIs, which allows a wider set of characters to be used to identify the location of a Web resorce. See RFC 3987 for additional details.
Propose: Leave this open and check back with reviewer. It's not clear whether the RFC 3987 work is complete (quick search found that there was a request for comments went out in Jan 2005).
Includes a number of suggestions related to the definition of structure, which has been revised significantly since the issue was raised.
Close: Overcome by events. The definition of structure has been revised in the 23 November 2005 draft.
Close: Overcome by events. The definition has been revised in the 23 November 2005 working draft.
Close: Overcome by events. The definition has been revised to include details about, " when rendered in a user agent according to the formal specification of the content type" as well as a clarification about ASCII art.
Close: Overcome by events. New definition is based on "baseline."
Definition of "initialism": You have related phenomena in different languages. Do youthink teyshould be mentioned hre and are relevant for your guidelines?
Close: Yes. WCAG 2.0 is intended to be be applied to content developed in multiple languages.
Definition of "natural languages": "languages are those used by humans to communicate, including spoken, written, and signed languages.". This sounds as if the difference between spoken and written and signed language is equal. I would rather say that spoken vs. written is a different media or channel of communication, whereas signed refers to a group of languages. Hence, an alternative definition would be: "languages are those used by humans to communicate, including spoken versus written communication, and signed languages."
Close: Some sign languages are another form of the spoken language. Other sign languages are separate. We are therefore not getting into this level of detail. All of them are "natural" and it isn't critical to specify the various relationships for this definition.
The reviewer writes, "I think we should clarify the word "Feature" has several meanings. The definition currently gives only one definition, but in the WCAG 2.0 document the word is used in a variety of meanings."
Current:
A feature is a specific component of a technology, for example an element in a markup language or a function call in an Application Programming Interface. Typically, a given feature may only be available in specific versions of the technology, and thus may need to be noted explicitly in the required list.
Close: Overcome by events. This term is no longer used in the latest version of the guidelines.
The reviewer writes, "...I would supplement 'where the events are not under the control of the author' by adding 'or the user'. How about something like 'Real-time events are those whose timing is triggered by outside events and therefore cannot be put under the control of the author or user without compromising their usefulness. For example, a stock ticker or emergency warnings could potentially lose their value if delayed significantly and are therefore real-time events, whereas any direct and immediate reaction to the user's input is not a real-time event.'"
While this definition has been revised since the issue was raised, some of the comments still seem to apply.
Current:
events that are live and not under the control of the author
Proposed:
events that are live and not under the control of the author or the user
Close with proposed.
Close: Reject this issue. The term "operable" is not used in an unusual way in the context of our guidelines and therefore does not need a definition.
This issue exprsses frustration with the number of links that need to be followed in order to understand some deinitions.
Close: We have tried to remove nested definitions where we can.
The reviewer writes, "The definition of "resource" does not refer to the web arch specification. Is there a reason for that?"
Close: We do not currently define the term resource. It is used as defined in the Web Characterization Terminology & Definitions Sheet.
Suggests including definitions for "informative." This is related to issues 1294 and 1757.
Propose: modify our defintion of normative as follows:
The reviewer writes, "this definition doesn't really describe the term. It is explanatory text for GL 2.1."
Current:
An alternate method for connecting a keyboard to the device for the purpose of generating text on devices that do not have a built-in or attached keyboard, or an internal method for generating text. Allowing control via the "keyboard interface" means that the content could be controlled through commands issued from the keyboard or by alternate methods that are capable of generating text as if a keyboard had been used. Keyboard operated mouse emulation software, such as MouseKeys, does not qualify because it emulates a mouse interface and is not a keyboard interface.
Proposed:
interface used by software to obtain keystroke input.
Note 1: Allows users to provide keystroke input to programs even if the native technology does not contain a keyboard.
Example: A touch screen PDA had a keyboard interface built into its OS and a connector for connecting external Keyboards. Applications on the PDA can use the interface to obtain keyboard input from either an external keyboard or from other applications that provide simulated keyboard output – such as handwriting interpreters or speech to text applications with “keyboard emulation” functionality.
Note 2: Operation of the application (or parts of the application) through a keyboard operated mouse emulator, such as MouseKeys, does not qualify as operation through a keyboard interface because operation of the program is through its pointing device interface – not through its keyboard interface.
Close with proposed changes.
The reviewer writes, "This definition should be narrowed, as the current wording makes several success criterion in the guideline prohibit commonly-used and well-regard mechanisms (such as several in 3.2 L2). For example, scrolling the viewport should not be considered a change of context unless it is done other than in response to a user action; in particular, it should be OK to scroll the viewport to keep the focus visible." A second comment suggests that this definition may need further definition and examples.
Current:
A change of user agent, viewport, or focus; or complete change of content that changes the meaning of the delivery unit.
Note: A change of content is not always a change of context. Small changes in content, such as an expanding outline or dynamic menu, do not change the context.
Suggests including definitions for "operating system" and "assistive technology."
Close: "operating system" does not appear in the latest draft, so no need to define. Our current definition of "user agent" links to the UAAG 1.0 glossary definition of assistive technology. Propose that we copy the UAAG definition of AT and API into WCAG 2.0 except for the part that talks about definitions outside of the context of UAAG. The definitions to be included would read as follows.
Examples of assistive technologies that are important in the context of this document include the following:
Implementing APIs that are independent of a particular operating environment (as are the W3C DOM Level 2 specifications) may reduce implementation costs for multi-platform user agents and promote the development of multi-platform assistive technologies. Implementing conventional APIs for a particular operating environment may reduce implementation costs for assistive technology developers who wish to interoperate with more than one piece of software running on that operating environment.
A "device API" defines how communication may take place with an input or output device such as a keyboard, mouse, or video card.
In this document, an "input/output API" defines how applications or devices communicate with a user agent. As used in this document, input and output APIs include, but are not limited to, device APIs. Input and output APIs also include more abstract communication interfaces than those specified by device APIs. A "conventional input/output API" is one that is expected to be implemented by software running on a particular operating environment. For example, the conventional input APIs of the user agent are for the mouse and keyboard. For touch screen devices or mobile devices, conventional input APIs may include stylus, buttons, and voice. The graphical display and sound card are considered conventional output devices for a graphical desktop computer environment, and each has an associated API.
Current:
Performs or is able to perform one or more actions in response to user input.
Proposed:
outcomes acheivable through user input
Close with proposed changes. Term is now referenced only fro guideline 2.1.
Current:
Synchronized transcripts of dialogue and important sounds. Captions provide access to multimedia for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Propose closing with the following revisions:
"subtitles" that include not only dialogue, but also sound effects and sometimes speaker identification.
Note: Captions provide access to multimedia for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Current:
translation of spoken words and other audible information into a language that uses a simultaneous combination of handshapes, facial expressions, and orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body to convey meaning.
The reviewer writes: Foreign passages or phrases are passages or phrases in a language that is different from the language of the surrounding text." How does the notion of "surrounding" fit to text structured with markup languages, e.g. attributes describing element content, or tables with rows in various languages like:
Language Text
German Das ist ein Beispiel.
English This is an example.
Current:
Foreign passages or phrases are passages or phrases in a language that is different from the language of the surrounding text.
Proposed:
Foreign passages or phrases are passages or phrases in a language that is different from the language of the text immediately preceeding and following in reading order.
As you create the referensce to Unicode, please use the way of referencing Unicode as described in the character model (fundamentals), e.g. Unicode The Unicode Consortium, The Unicode Standard, Version 4.1.0, ISBN 0-321-18578-1, as updated from time to time by the publication of new versions. (See http://www.unicode.org/unicode/standard/ versions for the latest version and additional information on versions of the standard and of the Unicode Character Database). Also, please add a link and / or a reference to the tutorial on character sets & encoding you are mentioning.
Close: Add the following note and close:
Note: Unicode The Unicode Consortium, The Unicode Standard, Version 4.1.0, ISBN 0-321-18578-1, as updated from time to time by the publication of new versions. (See http://www.unicode.org/unicode/standard/ versions for the latest version and additional information on versions of the standard and of the Unicode Character Database).
Giorgio Brajnik says: Add: 4. the difference that makes a difference (Bateson)
Current:
Proposed:
Close: The comment dealt with formatting and other variations that convey meaning. Suggest we include this and collapse the other categories into a description that explains how we use the word "information."
Close: Refer to BIG ISSUE -- re Delivery Units for detailed proposals.