Re: Checking in

Hi, Charles-

Charles Pritchard wrote (on 7/28/11 7:02 PM):
>
> Thanks again for putting me in a room with the amazing developers you
> work with through the W3C.

My pleasure.  I think you made a real contribution, and I appreciate it.


> I do hope, some time, to work with you in the future. Presently, I sense
> you still have some strong concerns about my motivations in the
> community as they relate to SVG.

Hmmm... no, not really.  I'm not sure why you have that impression. 
You've always struck me as a solid developer who knows both SVG and Canvas.


> Not much I can do there, but I do want to tell you that SVG is
> absolutely critical to my business:
> we need a standard file format, and that's SVG+InkML. I've made certain
> that our file output renders on iOS SVG.

I don't understand quite why you feel InkML is so important, but I'm 
interested in hearing more on it sometime.


> I'm eager Doug. But please, try to understand that apart from being an
> Uber-nerd, I'm in business, starting up a software company is hard,
> terrible work. Idealism quicklyhits reality, and then lessons get learned.

I totally understand that.  I ran a small international consulting 
startup focused on SVG, about 6 years ago.  I'm sympathetic to business 
concerns and market niches.


> I'm here, representing my interests, and I'm here on a personal level,
> representing my concern that accessibility is a human right,
> it's a matter of personal freedom,and one that has been oftenoverlooked
> by the still-immature field of web development. I very much will ensure
> that any new specification has WCAG in mind at every level.

You're preaching to the choir, and I hope you noticed that we brought 
people with different perspectives into the same room, and used valuable 
SVG WG time to discuss Canvas accessibility for over an hour, before I 
put forth the conclusion that SVG didn't need to do anything there; I 
think at the end of it, everyone was much more comfortable with your 
proposal than before, reservations notwithstanding.

I happen to think that Canvas is the wrong tech for what you're doing, 
but I'm not standing in the way of you trying to make it more 
accessible.  I have concerns that few will bother using the 
accessibility hooks you are adding, while it's more natural to do with 
SVG.  Perhaps I'm wrong, but it doesn't matter either way.  We can make 
both SVG and Canvas more accessible; it's not a zero-sum game.

Regards-
-Doug Schepers
W3C Staff Contact, SVG, WebApps, Web Events, and Audio WGs

Received on Friday, 29 July 2011 08:38:21 UTC