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Minutes 14 May 2004 Meeting
on this page: attendees - outreach updates - standards
harmonisation - site redesign drafts - next meeting
agenda
in e-mail list archives:
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-eo/2004AprJun/0070.html
Attendees
- AA: Andrew Arch, scribe
- AC: Alan Chuter
- BM: Blossom Michaeloff
- CL: Chuck Letourneau
- DS: Doyle Saylor
- HBj: Helle Bjarnø
- JB: Judy Brewer, chair
- LC: Libby Cohen
- NL: Natasha Lipkina
- SAZ: Shadi Abou-Zahra
- SLH: Shawn Henry, changelogger
- SP: Sailesh Panchang
Regrets
- CS: Carol Smith
- SD: Sylvie Duchateau
- JT: Justin Thorp
Outreach Updates
Standards Harmonisation
Background:
Document is Why Standards
Harmonization is Essential to Web Accessibility - 14th May 2004 draft
Change log is Change
Log: Why Standards Harmonization is Essential for Web Accessibility - see
"Change log and requests from 7 May 2004"
Minutes:
- JB: updated 14 May 2004 with a restructure from last discussion
- Judy took us through the changes. New structure is:
- <H1>Why Standards Harmonization is Essential to Web Accessibility
- <H2>Abstract
- <H2>Overview
- <H2>Current Situation
- <H2>Consequences
- <H3>Web Developers
- <H3>Authoring Tools
- <H3>Evaluation Tools
- <H3>Organizations
- <H3>Browsers, Media Players, Assistive Technologies
- <H3>Information Repositories
- <H2>Action Steps
- <H2>Related Resources
- CL: easier to follow the arguments
- CL: jargon - "information repositories" - didn't understand. Did you
mean metadata or collections of information?
- JB: maybe I used the wrong term - any suggestions?
- CL: Google "define information repository" showed an ok match - just
different from my normal understanding of the term
- CL: "define knowledge repository" turns up nothing
- JB: other reactions ?
- From Actions:
- How to point people to other materials about "participation"
- JB: Not done as no other pointers; also, no good
"participation" page at present
- JB: So - for now we don't link, but add later when the page is
rewritten?
- Agreed
- Andrew's comment re lower accessibility because of multiple
standards to meet
- JB: not incorporated because seems speculative - any concrete
examples?
- SLH: one company Shawn worked with has experienced this
- HBj: should we include possible excuses for people to adopt
lower standards? Within EuroAccessibility
we decided not to include any consideration of national standards
in TF3.
- JB: suggestion - in "organisations" section, add something
after second sentence "... and this may take time away from
accessibility efforts" (or similar)
- Agreed
- Is the current structure ok without transition sentences between
sections?
- William's comments from last friday
- JB: will consider copy edits
- JB: Browser section - rewritten - second para, second sentence,
particularly - but may need a better example - or remove for this
release?
- Agreed to remove
- JB: How long do people need to read in order to approve?
- Many done reading; others asked for weekend
- JB: proposing a simple wrap-up - post something to list for all
"members in good standing" to say:
- can live with it as it stands, OR
- needs particular changes
- JB: if all ok, then we have a finished document
- AC: In Browsers section: Difference between standards doesn't affect
the Browser side, does it? At least not differences between content
standards.
- JB: wanted to add something about the problem of having multiple user
agent accessibility guidelines - e.g. S508 generic software standard
(1194.21) vs UAAG has slowed
down adoption amongst browsers. Maybe needs a better transition
sentence.
- SP: Also a synergy effect between guidelines
- JB: two things trying to get across - a) current fragmentation on
UAAG side
affects accessibility in agents. b) synergy aspect. Maybe needs more time
to sort out.
- AC: could it mention other software standards
- AA: maybe generically. There are others, e.g. IBM, MS, Sun
- discussion about approaches to cover this
- JB: is there any simple suggestion regarding the synergy issue? or is
covered in the second para of Web Developers section? Maybe refer back to
this material?
- JB: will discuss with Matt May and Ian Jacobs for suggestions
- JB: will put out an update asap - if no good synergy capture
immediately obvious, then drop the section?
- Agreed
Site Redesign - drafted sections for
home page
Background (from agenda):
See SLH
email from 13 May 2004:
- one or two short sentences answering, "What is WAI?"
- one or two short sentences about participating in WAI
Minutes:
What is WAI?
drafts:
- short version: WAI, a W3C domain, is an international forum for
collaboration.
- longer version: The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is an
international forum for collaboration between industry, disability
organizations, accessibility researchers, government, and others
interested in Web accessibility. WAI is part of the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C).
Discussion:
- longer version preferred
- what about "education"?
- SLH: is "collaboration" sufficient - or is the list required?
- LC: ok, just thought the the "E" from"EO" is missing
- SLH: covered elsewhere
- good to show the breadth of collaboration
- Is there a better word then "part"?
- keep for now - flag for possible amendment
- LC: do we need "accessibility researchers"?
- JB: an essential group - started much of the process and did the core
work
- Longer version accepted
Participating in WAI
notes:
- will be with a link that would go to the page with lots more
details
- one purpose is to help debunk the myth that WAI is a closed
organization
- there is a separate section listing sponsors and linking to more
information on sponsoring
drafts:
- more formal version: WAI welcomes participation from individuals and
organizations around the world. Participation opportunities range from
reviewing, implementing, and promoting guidelines to participating in a
working group as a W3C member organization.
- casual "you" version: There are many opportunities for you to
participate in WAI, from implementing WAI guidelines to contributing
techniques to a working group.
related question: - should the link be "Participating in WAI" or other?
Discussion:
- SLH: plan to link to a new page inviting participation and explaining
what is available and how to participate
- SLH: during user testing people were looking for the word
"volunteer"
- JB: WAI does rely on much time and effort donated by participants
within a member organisation. But all kinds of contribution and effort -
some is volunteering, but other ways of contributing as well.
- CL: formal vs casual - if not casual everywhere, then do not be casual
in one place
- Formal version accepted
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