- From: Ian B. Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
- Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 14:15:14 -0400
- To: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
Dear UAWG,
I am very pleased to announce the beginning of the last
call review of UAAG 1.0. I just sent the following email
to the (Member-only) chairs list. The review ends 18
September.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Our next steps will be to:
a) Track review comments.
b) Continue work on the evaluation report
c) Continue work on test suites
Thank you for your support,
- Ian
============================================================
Dear Chairs,
On behalf of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working
Group (UAWG) [1], I am pleased to announce the publication of the
21 August 2002 "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" (UAAG
1.0) last call Working Draft. The document is available at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-UAAG10-20020821/
The last call review period ends 18 Sep 2002. Please send review
comments before that date to w3c-wai-ua@w3.org (archives [2]).
The UAWG has scheduled this review period based on comments
received as a result of our request to the Chairs [3, W3C Members
only].
The UAWG also encourages review of the 21 August 2002 "Techniques
for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" Working Draft, even
though this document is not in last call. The UAWG expects to
publish the Techniques document as a companion W3C Note should
UAAG 1.0 become a W3C Recommendation. This Techniques document is
available at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-UAAG10-TECHS-20020821/
Please find below the following information:
* Which groups should review this document
* UAWG expectations for this review
* Primary changes since the CR draft
* Checkpoints with low implementation experience
* Test suite, evaluation tools
* Objections
* Patent disclosures
* The abstract and status sections of both documents
I look forward to your review comments,
- Ian Jacobs, W3C
Team Contact for the UAWG
[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/
[2] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/
[3] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Member/chairs/2002JulSep/0026
========================================
Which groups should review this document
========================================
While the UAWG welcomes review from all interested parties, we
request review specifically from the following W3C groups:
DOM WG
HTML WG
Internationalization WG/IG
SYMM IG
SVG WG
Protocols and Formats WG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WG
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines WG
The W3C Director will appreciate a response (sent to
w3c-wai-ua@w3.org), with or without review comments.
=================================
UAWG expectations for this review
=================================
The Director advanced UAAG 1.0 to its Second Candidate
Recommendation on 12 Sep 2001 [4]. The UAWG has spent the past
year gathering implementation experience and clarifying the
document based on in-depth discussions with user agent and
assistive technology developers. The UAWG has not made
substantial technical changes other than to remove some
checkpoints for which there was low implementation experience;
see details below.
In this fourth last call review, the User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines Working Group is primarily interested in comments on
changes since the Candidate Recommendation. The Working Group
does not expect to make substantial changes to this document as
the result of this review; the document has already received
substantial technical feedback in earlier reviews. The UAWG does
expect to make clarifications and to record issues to be
addressed after UAAG 1.0.
Similarly, the Working Group does not expect to re-open old
issues (e.g., checkpoint priorities) except if presented with
substantial new information. The UAWG issues lists are available
from the UAWG home page [1]. The most recent issues list is
available at [5].
The UAWG agreed to return to last call at its 25 July 2002
teleconference [6].
[4]
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Member/w3c-ac-members/2001JulSep/0025
[5] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/issues/issues-linear-cr2
[6] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2002JulSep/0051
==================================
Primary changes since the CR draft
==================================
As a result of the second Candidate Recommendation period, the
UAWG:
a) Deleted or modified some checkpoint provisions.
b) Retained some checkpoints despite low implementation
experience.
c) Added one checkpoint regarding API access to some
rendering information.
The chapter on conformance has been greatly simplified
since the Candidate Recommendation.
A summary of major changes to checkpoints [7] is available
on the Web, as is the complete list of changes [8].
[7] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2002/06/checkpoint-overview
[8] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/wai-ua-wd-changes
==============================================
Checkpoints with low implementation experience
==============================================
The UAWG has documented implementation of UAAG 1.0 requirements
in an implementation report [9] (updated since the pre-CR
implementation report). This draft report indicates that 92% of
the checkpoints have two or more implementations that are
complete or almost complete, and 99% of the checkpoints have one
or more implementation. The report clearly lists the checkpoints
for which there is still only partial implementation experience.
The UAWG expects to continue to gather implementation
experience during this review. Reviewers are encouraged to
make the UAWG aware of implementations of UAAG 1.0
requirements.
After this last call review, the UAWG plans to request that the
Director advance this document directly to Proposed
Recommendation status despite low implementation experience for
five checkpoints. The UAWG considers these checkpoints important
to promoting accessibility and wishes that they remain in the
document.
[9] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/impl-pr2/
============================
Test suite, evaluation tools
============================
The UAWG developed the following materials during the CR review
period:
* Test suite. The UAWG has made good progress on a test suite for
UAAG 1.0 requirements [10]. The test suite includes a number of
tests for HTML 4.01 as well as some multimedia tests. The UAWG
is still early in its work on UAAG 1.0 test suites, and is
coordinating its efforts with the QA Working Group. The
available materials have already helped developers better
understand the requirements of UAAG 1.0.
* Evaluation tools. The UAWG has developed an interactive
(form-based) tool [11] to assist people who are evaluating whether
a user agent satisfies the requirements of UAAG 1.0.
* Documentation. Beyond the explanations in UAAG 1.0
itself, the draft document "How to evaluate a user
agent for conformance to UAAG 1.0" [12] provides additional
guidance in the evaluation process.
[10] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/TS/html401/
[11] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2002/08/eval
[12] http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2001/10/eval
==========
Objections
==========
There have been no objections raised or withdrawn since those
raised prior to the second Candidate Recommendation. Those
still in effect from earlier reviews are listed here:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/2001/08/lc3-dispo#objections
==================
Patent disclosures
==================
There are currently no patent disclosures regarding UAAG
1.0. Patent disclosures regarding UAAG 1.0 are listed here:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/disclosures
====================
Abstract of UAAG 1.0
====================
This document provides guidelines for designing user agents that
lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities
(visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, and neurological). User
agents include HTML browsers and other types of software that
retrieve and render Web content. A user agent that conforms to
these guidelines will promote accessibility through its own user
interface and through other internal facilities, including its
ability to communicate with other technologies (especially
assistive technologies). Furthermore, all users, not just users
with disabilities, are expected to find conforming user agents to
be more usable.
In addition to helping developers of HTML browsers, media
players, etc., this document will also benefit developers of
assistive technologies because it explains what types of
information and control an assistive technology may expect from a
conforming user agent. Technologies not addressed directly by
this document (e.g., technologies for braille rendering) will be
essential to ensuring Web access for some users with
disabilities.
==========================
Status section of UAAG 1.0
[Minus some boilerplate]
==========================
This is the 21 August 2002 Last Call Working Draft of "User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". The last call review period ends
18 September 2002. Last Call Working Draft status is described in
section 5.2.2 of the Process Document. Since the previous
Candidate Recommendation draft, the UAWG has gathered
implementation experience and clarified the document based on
in-depth discussions with user agent and assistive technology
developers.
As a result of the second Candidate Recommendation period, the
UAWG:
1. deleted or modified some checkpoint provisions with low
implementation experience;
2. retained some checkpoints despite low implementation
experience;
3. added one checkpoint regarding API access to some rendering
information.
The chapter on conformance has also been greatly simplified since
the Candidate Recommendation. The complete list of changes is
available on the Web.
In this review, the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working
Group is primarily interested in comments on changes since the
Candidate Recommendation. The Working Group does not expect to
make substantial changes to this document as the result of this
review; the document has already received substantial technical
review. The UAWG does expect to make clarifications and to record
issues to be addressed after UAAG 1.0.
The latest information regarding patent disclosures related to
this document is available on the Web. As of this publication,
there are no disclosures.
Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the
W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated,
replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is
inappropriate to cite this document as other than "work in
progress."
===================================
Abstract of Techniques for UAAG 1.0
===================================
This document provides techniques for satisfying the checkpoints
defined in "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0"
[UAAG10]. These techniques address key aspects of the
accessibility of user interfaces, content rendering, application
programming interfaces (APIs), and languages such as the
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
and the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL).
The techniques listed in this document are not required for
conformance to the Guidelines. These techniques are not
necessarily the only way of satisfying the checkpoint, nor are
they a definitive set of requirements for satisfying a
checkpoint.
=========================================
Status section of Techniques for UAAG 1.0
[Minus some boilerplate]
=========================================
This is the 21 August 2002 Working Draft of "Techniques for User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". It is a draft document and
may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference
material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". This
is work in progress and does not imply endorsement by, or the
consensus of, either W3C or participants in the User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG).
While User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 strives to be a
stable document (as a W3C Recommendation), the current document
is expected to evolve as technologies change and content
developers discover more effective techniques for designing
accessible Web sites and pages.
--
Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org) http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel: +1 718 260-9447
Received on Wednesday, 21 August 2002 14:19:05 UTC