Re: Is it 2 or 3 years that WCAG will be updated? - I thought it was approx. 3

I am new to this working group and while I find this conversation
interesting, I am left wondering why this group is not focusing more on the
issue of fairness to the end user, rather than timeliness for release.  If
this group focuses on what is fair and what should be included, then I
believe that the process for consensus will drive the release. Isn't that
what makes the W3C effective, powerful, and international?

I don't have time to devote to writing emails as long as War and Peace - or
even to thoroughly reading those types of emails, but I will say that
people with disabilities all over the world need knowledgeable people like
those found on this list to come together and provide leadership that
maintains a commitment to fairness for everyone.

In my newbie state, I think the focus should be on doing what is right and
trying to ensure that we are thinking about the effects on the end user
when we release something that may or may not provide provisions for
populations of people who are underserved and have no voice.  Should there
be a general goal for when updates should be done?  Yes.  Should that goal
be more important than ensuring that the needs of whole populations of
people with disabilities are addressed?  No.  If an update to the standards
makes time more important than fairness, then I think the entire purpose
for a body like this has been compromised.


Jan McSorley
VP, Accessibility
Psychometrics and Testing Services

400 Center Ridge Drive, Suite E
Austin, TX  78753
M - (512) 673-9569
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*We put a man on the moon in the 1960's ... surely we can make information
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... it must be done ... it will be done!*

On Tue, Nov 8, 2016 at 10:42 PM, Chakravarthula, Srinivasu <
srchakravarthula@informatica.com> wrote:

> Absolutely. Even I do accessibility because of the passion and impact that
> it creates.
>
> We can look at short term or little long term releases; but it should be
> reasonable time frame for our users. They should not feel either "Oh, W3C
> is changing guidelines often" or "Oh, technology has changed so much and
> accessibility guidelines do not match to current technologies"... We need
> to have that balance.
>
> Best,
>
> Best regards,
> -Vasu
> --
> Srinivasu Chakravarthula
> Lead Accessibility Consultant
> Informatica Business Solutions Pvt Ltd.,
> Work: +91-80-4020-3760 | Cell: +91 99008 10881
> Website | Accessibility Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Katie Haritos-Shea GMAIL [mailto:ryladog@gmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2016 6:56 AM
> To: tink@tink.uk; 'Jonathan Avila' <jon.avila@ssbbartgroup.com>; 'WCAG' <
> w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
> Subject: RE: Is it 2 or 3 years that WCAG will be updated? - I thought it
> was approx. 3
>
> Leonie,
>
> LEONIE: Some people find legislation a compelling reason to do
> accessibility, other people do not.
>
> ​​​​​Katie: I am not one of them. I do not *do* accessibility because of
> legislation. I do it because I believe it is the right thing to do, and I
> am happy that in the US it is recognized as a civil right for people to
> have access.
>
> In the US though, legislation enables that access......
>
> LEONIE: we can either move slowly and make everyone wait, or we can move
> more quickly and enable everyone to adopt the new guidance as and when it
> suits them best.
>
> Katie: I personally have never said we need to make user *wait for
> government*. I have said we should take into account the requirments that
> governments have to adopt standards. 'Take into account' does not mean
> don't move forward.
>
> I do expect that we have the same goals long term, but I am looking at
> this through my US lense..........:-)
>
> * katie *
>
> Katie Haritos-Shea
> Principal ICT Accessibility Architect (WCAG/Section 508/ADA/AODA)
>
> Cell: 703-371-5545 | ryladog@gmail.com | Oakton, VA | LinkedIn Profile |
> Office: 703-371-5545 | @ryladog
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Léonie Watson [mailto:tink@tink.uk]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 8, 2016 7:44 PM
> To: Jonathan Avila <jon.avila@ssbbartgroup.com>; WCAG <w3c-wai-gl@w3.org>
> Subject: Re: Is it 2 or 3 years that WCAG will be updated? - I thought it
> was approx. 3
>
> Some people find legislation a compelling reason to do accessibility,
> other people do not. I work for a US accessibility agency, and also for the
> UK Government, so I witness both these attitudes on a first-hand and daily
> basis.
>
> So may I suggest we stop discussing whether accessibility exists despite
> legislation or in spite of it, and accept the fact that we should consider
> people in both groups.
>
> Let's look at the people who depend on legislation first. It took Germany
> about three years to adopt WCAG 2.0, it took Canada five years to do it
> (except for the bits they didn't adopt), the EU might get around to it next
> year (but only for public sector websites), it's anyone's guess whether the
> US will ever upgrade from WCAG 1.0, and the UK doesn't reference WCAG at
> all.
>
> So we have one group of people waiting an entirely unpredictable amount of
> time for their respective governments to decide if, when, and how much of
> any new guidance they will adopt. That's ok though, because they will
> continue to use the current legislative requirements for region whilst they
> wait.
>
> Now let's look at the people who do not depend on legislation. They will
> adopt new guidance as it is released, and if there is even the smallest
> chance that they will use that guidance to make things better for disabled
> and older people on the web, why would we make them wait?
>
> So the choice seems straight-forward to me... we can either move slowly
> and make everyone wait, or we can move more quickly and enable everyone to
> adopt the new guidance as and when it suits them best.
>
> Léonie.
> --
> @LeonieWatson tink.uk Carpe diem
>
>
>
>
>