Re: My Retirement Letter

Hi Wayne

> I strongly recommend giving yourself time to enjoy your time on earth.

Yes, it is indeed a very short time we have here... it's been a pleasure
working with you over the years and I enjoyed our discussions on how to
make this world more accessible.
I wish you the very best with everything...

Cheers,
David MacDonald



*Can**Adapt* *Solutions Inc.*

Tel:  613-806-9005

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On Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 11:51 AM Laura Carlson <laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi Wayne,
>
> We have been so fortunate to have your expertise to rely on. Your work
> truly made a lasting impact, and one that has changed accessibility
> for the better in so many ways.
>
> Thank you for everything you've done for me directly and indirectly;
> it's much appreciated and I will truly miss working with you. It has
> been a pleasure.
>
> Enjoy this next journey of your life, my friend.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Laura
>
> On 7/13/20, Wayne Dick <wayneedick@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Dear Friends,
> >
> > I am retired from AG. I’m 72 and I am gardening, teaching my
> grandchildren
> > on Zoom and studying mathematics. It’s fun, and I strongly recommend
> giving
> > yourself time to enjoy your time on earth.
> >
> > This letter is to reflect on my time with the W3C. It has been wonderful,
> > even if I got really frustrated at times. That is the nature of changing
> > the world. We all have good ideas, and at the W3C many are brilliant. I
> > felt honored to bask in the glow of so many luminaries. I was so lucky to
> > meet people who had a lot to give and gave all of it.
> >
> > I also love what you have accomplished. Incomplete, sometimes flawed, but
> > always improving life for people with disabilities, the W3C work has done
> > more for print disabilities than any other group in history. I can read
> > almost every topic I need to read. Sometimes I hit dead ends, but today
> > that is rare.
> >
> > I am mildly sorry about being a pain in the --- at times. I do wish I
> could
> > have remained diplomatic, but I am flawed.
> >
> > There one thing I would like to suggest for future Wayne’s. When a person
> > complains about an access issue please listen to the need. People with
> > disabilities often perceive issues that support personnel and researchers
> > do not know. Support personnel and researchers are experts, but the
> person
> > with the disability knows more than any expert.
> >
> > When a person with a disability says, “I cannot do activity X.” There
> > really might be profound accessibility issues that have not been
> recognized
> > at present. At that point we need to ask four questions.
> >
> >    1.
> >
> >     Does the issue observed problem reveal of a new accessibility
> barrier?
> >    2.
> >
> >     Can the barrier be addressed with web technology?
> >    3.
> >
> >     Does the structure of web accessibility guidelines enable a strategy
> >    that can address this issue?
> >    4.
> >
> >     If 1 and 2 are true and 3 is false, is it ethical for the AG to
> ignore
> >    the issue because it exceeds the scope of the current accessibility
> >    guidelines?
> >
> > I am not sure how to implement a protocol like this, but I think it is
> > necessary. Silver is moving in this direction, but I think our new
> > guidelines need to build in mechanisms for growth and foundational
> review.
> >
> > WCAG 2 attempted to anticipate changes in web technology with the Robust
> > Principle, but it did not make room for changes to assistive technologies
> > or the need for new assistive technologies. At the writing of WCAG 2
> there
> > was little to no consideration of the personalization issue. WCAG 2
> > addressed transformations of one learning mode to another mode like
> > text-to-speech and speech-to-text, and mouse access (visual) to keyboard.
> > However, WCAG 2 did not address intra modal transformatio. For example,
> > text to modified text was not addressed in an effective way. Real access
> to
> > intra modal transformation lives outside the scope of WCAG 2. For
> example,
> > change of color is impossible within the scope of WCAG 2. We just gave
> that
> > up.
> >
> > Sadly, the WG often questions the user need when the current technology
> or
> > limits of the guidelines cannot slove the problem.
> >
> > When a future Wayne comes along, maybe you could just say. “You have
> > identified a serious problem, but we don’t know how to solve it.” That
> > would be disappointing, but it would not feel dismissive.
> >
> > With Love, Wayne
> >
>
>
> --
> Laura L. Carlson
>
>