Re: 4.1.1 Parsing in WCAG 2.0 and 2.1

Brooks,
Quick question:  Is the problem with SC 4.1.1 Parsing too much busy work for accessibility auditors trying to make sense of an inaccurate HTML validator report?  Or, is the problem a lack of transparency as to how browsers and other user agents have been programmed to parse non-conforming content?  Can we make cleaner, more useful validation reports if the browser manufacturers self-report on how their wares are going to handle poorly formed web content and bake those variables into a newer, better code validation tool, for example?

AWK: The former primarily. Authors are given huge number of issues that have no impact on end users, and it is a waste of time to log these issues and a waste of time to fix them if there is no impact on the appearance or behavior of the content.

Or, is it the whole point on this action to sever one of the last remaining threads in the WCAG specification that hints at coordination between the various essential and interdependent components of Web accessibility<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2FWAI%2Ffundamentals%2Fcomponents%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cakirkpat%40adobe.com%7Ca7f53f51708742cba72608db2180a6a8%7Cfa7b1b5a7b34438794aed2c178decee1%7C0%7C0%7C638140608664771822%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SLE99SmR%2FUlPb%2BE5BvZEE4TSCLZx3%2BIox5khp2eLwKw%3D&reserved=0> (content authors, user agents, assistive technology, standards makers, users, etc.) to achieve a predictable, usable and accessible content?

AWK: This is a little bit leading as a question. No, the goal is not to sever anything, it is to reflect the reality of this SC not providing any benefit to users. The conformance criteria and concept of accessibility support function as something far more robust than a thread that hints at coordination.

Hopefully this answers two of your questions. I’m not sure about the second one (“Are there any regulations, laws, standards that require software makers to keep their wares working properly on a consistent basis moving forward?”)
AWK