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Participation in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group

This page explains the requirements and procedures for becoming a participant in the WCAG WG. It also explains how non-participants may contribute to the Working Group by subscribing to the group's mailing list, monitoring the group's progress, and contributing on that list.

Reviewing drafts

Working Drafts of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) are updated quarterly and are available for your review. W3C Working Drafts provide opportunities for public comment during the development of a specification. Please send comments to the public comments mailing list: public-comments-wcag20@w3.org. The archive for the public comments mailing list is available.

Subscribing to the mailing list

The WCAG WG mailing list archives are publicly available and can be read by anyone. If you would like to contribute online to the work of the WCAG WG, you may subscribe to the WCAG WG mailing list.

Subscribing to the mailing list does not make you a participant in Good Standing (W3C term indicating that a participant is satisfying the participation requirements of the W3C Process and the Working Group's charter) but that does not limit your ability to comment and contribute. If you later want to become a participant in Good Standing, follow the steps in the "Becoming a participant in Good Standing" section below.

To subscribe to the WCAG WG mailing list:

1. Request a W3C Access Account:
   • If you work for a W3C Member organization, complete the Member Access Request Form. In the "Additional information that might be helpful in processing your request (optional):" field, fill in: "To subscribe to the WCAG WG mailing list."
   • If you do not work for W3C Member organization, complete the Public Access Request Form. In the "Describe the specific purpose for this public access name and password:" field, fill in: "To subscribe to the WCAG WG mailing list."

   You should receive your W3C login name and password within 2 business days.

2. After you receive your W3C login name, request to be added to the WCAG WG mailing list by sending an e-mail:
   • including your W3C login in the e-mail body
   • with subject line "Request for WCAG WG mailing list"
   • stating that you have read the mailing list use policy and agree to it
   • to: member-wcagwg-cfp@w3.org

Becoming a participant in Good Standing

The following is an excerpt from the W3C Process document section 6.2.1.7 Good Standing in a Working Group

Participation in a Working Group on an ongoing basis implies a serious commitment to the charter, including all of the following:

• attending most meetings of the Working Group.
• providing deliverables or drafts of deliverables in a timely fashion.
• being familiar with the relevant documents of the Working Group, including minutes of past meetings.
• following discussions on relevant mailing list(s).

Participation enables you to influence the development of the deliverables, and you and your organization will be listed as contributors to the deliverables of the WCAG WG where appropriate. Participant status, however, requires a commitment on your behalf to support the work of the group.

Participants are expected to observe the requirements of Section 6.2.1.7 of the Process Document ("Good Standing in a Working Group").

If you work for a W3C Member organization...

1. Read the WCAG WG Charter.
2. If you do not have a W3C Access Account login and password, complete the Member Access Request Form. You should receive your W3C login name and password within 2 business days.
3. After you receive your W3C login name, ask your W3C Advisory Committee (AC) Representative to:
   1. fill out the Working Group Nomination Form, which includes completing an intellectual property rights (IPR) declaration on behalf of your organization.
   2. select you as a participant in the Working Group by completing the Joining the WCAG WG Form

You will be notified when these forms are processed, and will be automatically added to the WCAG WG mailing list.

If you do not work for a W3C Member organization...

If you do not work for a W3C Member organization and you think that you have the expertise and availability to participate, you may apply to become an Invited Expert.

1. Read the WCAG WG Charter.
2. Read the W3C Invited Expert and Collaborators Agreement.
3. If you do not have a W3C Access Account login and password, complete the Public Access Request Form. In the "Describe the specific purpose for this public access name and password:" field, fill in: "To subscribe to the WCAG WG mailing list." You should receive your W3C login name and password within 2 business days.
4. After you receive your W3C login name, complete the W3C Invited Expert Application. You should receive a reply within 10 business days.
5. If you are accepted as an Invited Expert, you will receive confirmation with additional instructions.

Note: The WCAG WG is a public working group and by participating you will not receive access to information that is W3C Member-confidential unless you have been given privileges through participation in another W3C Working Group.

Document Information

[Contacting WAI]

File (not content) last updated on $Date: 2005/07/27 09:02:12 $ by $Author: shawn $