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Frequently Asked Questions about PFWG Public Comments

Why can't I subscribe to the PFWG public comments list?
The PF comments list is a moderated, post-only list whose purpose is to document the receipt of formal comments and their dispositions. If comments were to come to a list where discussion also happens, it would be nearly impossible for us to verify that we've responded to all the comments we've formally received, as we're required to do. Discussion of ARIA comments is, of course, helpful and welcome on our (member only) PF list or our (Public) X-Tech list.
Why does PFWG discuss public comments privately rather than in public?
In keeping with long standing W3C practice, PF's initial review of comments is conducted in member confidential space in order to assist us in reaching group consensus on the appropriate disposition for each comment. Our discussions do not necessarily represent a group consensus on how to respond to the comment. Ensuring we have consensus on our response before making it public, is the primary reason we hold off on sending responses.
How can commenters engage the status of their comments?
The comment stage does include a phase of requesting feedback from the commenter. We don't simply publish a new draft after rejecting suggestions received, without at least working with the commenter to see if we can arrive at a mutually acceptable position. Discussing comments before we have reached our own consensus, could result in an unstructured discussion that takes considerable additional time, does not necessarily lead to a better outcome, and makes it difficult for us to fulfill process requirements.
How can the public engage in discussion of public comments?
We do participate in discussions about the issues that have been submitted to us, included the XTech list, HTML list, and other fora. Please don't send comments to wai-xtech without sending to public-pfwg-comments. They won't get processed as formal comments. Discussions on wai-xtech are helpful, and we'll try to be sure to reference them as we discuss the comments.
Why have comments sent in the past not been addressed?
We are not under formal obligation to respond to comments received before our Last Call is published. For this reason our formal comment tracking process was not in place until we announced last call. Nevertheless, we have endeavored to address issues we recieved informally. It is certainly possible we did not respond to all concerns expressed in open fora, and we do apologize for that. If you're aware that we've missed an issue you believe we should address, please file a formal comment—even though the comment period has expired.