Planning Highlights on WAI Home Page and other announcements

WAI IG email:

WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices: Updated Guidance

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

Guidance on the the current state of the art in WAI-ARIA implementation is available in the updated Working Draft of:
     WAI-ARIA 1.0 Authoring Practices: An author's guide to understanding and implementing Accessible Rich Internet Applications
     http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-practices/

Overview:
WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices is a supporting document for the WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technical specification, which is introduced at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria>.
WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices provides detailed advice and examples to make widgets, navigation, and behaviors accessible using WAI-ARIA roles, states, and properties. It is primarily for web application developers, and is also useful for user agent and assistive technology developers.

Draft:
This Draft has important updates since the previous publication. It is still being developed and does not yet address all known issues. To see a history of changes, responses to previous comments, and a list of review questions for this Draft, see the Status section at: <http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-practices/#sotd>

Comments:
Please submit any comments on this draft by *5 April 2013*, via Comment Form or e-mail as described in:
     Comment Instructions for PFWG Documents
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/comments/instructions

Editors' Draft in progress:
If you would like to see in-progress updates before the next version is published, you can read the unapproved Editors' Draft at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria-practices/>

Background:
WAI-ARIA documents are developed by the W3C WAI Protocols and Formats Working Group (PFWG), <http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/>.

Not to be confused with ATAG:
WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices is different from Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), which defines what *tools* need to do for accessibility. WAI-ARIA, ATAG, and other standards are listed in WAI Guidelines and Techniques at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html>

About the URI:
The first URI above goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version of this Working Draft is: <http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/WD-wai-aria-practices-20130307/>
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking>

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

WAI IG email:

Developing Web Accessibility Presentations and Training - resource material

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

Developing Web Accessibility Presentations and Training is updated at:
     <http://www.w3.org/WAI/training/>

It provides materials for speakers, lecturers, educators, and other presenters to help their participants understand more about web accessibility. It is a multi-page resource that includes a range of information from introductory slides for those new to accessibility, to updated statistics and demos for experienced trainers.

We encourage you to share your tips, guidance, and suggestions in the Presentations and Training WAI-Engage wiki page at:
     <http://www.w3.org/community/wai-engage/wiki/Presentations_and_Training_on_Web_Accessibility>
To learn more about the WAI-Engage Web Accessibility Community Group, see:
     <http://www.w3.org/community/wai-engage/>

For those attending CSUN next week, we'd love to see you at the Training Resource Suite for Web Accessibility session:
     Wednesday, February 27 at 8:00am
     Madeleine AB, 3rd Floor

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

WAI IG email:

Exciting New Work for Mobile and More -- IndieUI: Events Call for Review

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

In 2012, W3C WAI started work on "IndieUI" - Independent User Interface - to help web applications work better with different devices (such as mobile phones and tablets), different assistive technologies (AT), and different user needs.

IndieUI defines a way for different user interactions to be translated into simple events and communicated to web applications. (For example, if a user wants to scroll down a page, they might use their finger on a touch screen, or click a scroll bar with a mouse, or use a scroll wheel, or say "scroll down" with a voice command. With IndieUI, these are all sent to the web app as simply: scroll down.) With IndieUI, web application developers will have a uniform way to design applications that work for multiple devices and contexts.

To learn about IndieUI, see the Overview page at:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/indieui

Today we published the First Public Working Draft of IndieUI: Events technical specification at:
     http://www.w3.org/TR/2013/WD-indie-ui-events-20130122/
We would like comments on this Draft by 22 February 2013 to the publicly-archived e-mail list:
     public-indie-ui-comments@w3.org

To learn more about this work and how you can get involved, see "IndieUI: Events expands user interface interactions" blog post at:
     http://www.w3.org/QA/2013/01/indie-ui_events_fpwd

To learn about WAI's work on mobile accessibility, see:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web ICT

Dear WAI Interest Group,

WAI invites you to comment on the updated Working Draft of Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) that is available at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/

About this document:
This draft document provides guidance on how Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 can be applied to non-web information and communications technologies (ICT), specifically documents and software. It does not discuss whether or not WCAG 2.0 should be applied to non-Web ICT.

It is an informative supporting document for WCAG 2.0. It is not normative, does not set requirements, and does not change the scope of WCAG 2.0 itself. It is planned to be a W3C Working Group Note.

This document includes existing wording from WCAG 2.0 -- the principles, guidelines, success criteria -- and the Intent sections from Understanding WCAG 2.0. It provides additional guidance on applying each success criteria to non-Web documents and software.

Status and Comment Replies:
This updated draft includes many changes in response to comments received on the previous Working Draft. The Task Force is continuing to process comments, and will respond to commenters after completing the comments processing.

While the structure and approach of this draft is complete, there are some sections yet to be written (which are indicated with "The WCAG2ICT Task Force has not yet produced additional guidance..."), and we expect additional edits based on review comments.

Review:
We particularly seek comments on the Key Terms defined in this draft and the "Additional Guidance" sections.

Please send comments on this draft to the publicly-archived mailing list:
public-wcag2ict-comments@w3.org
*by 15 February 2013*

About the related documents:
* The focus of this review is the Additional Guidance sections (not the wording taken from other documents).
* Understanding WCAG 2.0 is being updated. It will continue to focus on web technologies and not be changed to specifically address non-web ICT.
* WCAG 2.0 itself is a stable Web Standard that will not change.
* If you have comments on the wording taken from WCAG 2.0 or Understanding WCAG 2.0, please read the Instructions for Commenting on WCAG 2.0 Documents at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/

About the URI:
The first URI in this e-mail goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version of this draft is: <http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-wcag2ict-20121213/>
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html>

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, W3C, WAI Outreach
Loretta Guarino Reid, Google Inc., WCAG WG Co-Chair
Gregg Vanderheiden, Trace R&D Center, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Andi Snow-Weaver, IBM Corporation, WCAG2ICT TF Co-Facilitator
Mike Pluke, Castle Consulting, WCAG2ICT TF Co-Facilitator
Michael Cooper, W3C, WCAG WG and WCAG2ICT TF Staff Contact
Judy Brewer, W3C, WAI Director

WAI IG email:

Role Attribute is a W3C Proposed Recommendation

Dear WAI Interest Group,

W3C WAI announces the publication of Role Attribute 1.0 as a W3C Proposed Recommendation on 13 December, at:
     http://www.w3.org/TR/role-attribute/

Role Attribute allows authors to annotate markup languages with machine-extractable semantic information about the purpose of an element. Role Attribute is a critical requirement for WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications), which is introduced at http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.php

Proposed Recommendation (PR) is the last stage before final publication as a Web Standard "W3C Recommendation". The W3C Process stages are described in:
     How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process

Please submit any comments via the instructions at:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/comments/instructions
     before *1 February 2013*

About the URI: The first URI above goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version of this CR version is: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/PR-role-attribute-20121213/
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, WAI Outreach
Janina Sajka. PFWG Chair
Michael Cooper, PFWG W3C Staff Contact
Judy Brewer, WAI Director

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM)

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

WAI invites you to comment on the updated Working Draft of Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) at:
        http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-EM/

Overview:
WCAG-EM describes an approach for evaluating how websites -- including web applications and websites for mobile devices -- conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. It covers different situations, including self-assessment and third-party evaluation. It is independent of particular evaluation tools, web browsers, and assistive technologies.

Draft:
This draft has proposed content for all sections. Now is a good time to review it. We are particularly looking for feedback on the applicability of this methodology in practice and for input on refining and expanding the guidance provided. Specific questions are indicated with "Review Note" in the draft.

@@added - heh@@
Comments:
Please send comments on this draft document to the publicly archived mailing list:
        public-wai-evaltf@w3.org
        by *20 October 2012*

Background:
WCAG-EM is developed by the WCAG 2.0 Evaluation Methodology Task Force (Eval TF), a joint task force of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG) and Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG). The Eval TF is introduced at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/eval-tf>
It is a supporting resource for WCAG 2.0 and does not replace or supersede it in any way. For an overview of WCAG, see <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag>
This work is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/>
It is part of W3C WAI activities on web accessibility evaluation and testing introduced at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/>

URI:
The first URI above goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version of this draft is: <http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-WCAG-EM-20120920/>
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html>

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Eric Velleman, Eval TF Facilitator
Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C/WAI Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Mobile Accessibility Resources

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

New and updated information related to mobile accessibility is now available online.

A new WAI page that summarizes existing and developing resources related to mobile accessibility — that is, making websites and applications more accessible to people with disabilities when they are using mobile phones and a broad range of other devices:
* Mobile Accessibility
    http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/Overview.html

Updated WAI pages:
* Web Content Accessibility and Mobile Web: Making a Website Accessible Both for People with Disabilities and for Mobile Devices
    http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/overlap.html
* Shared Web Experiences: Barriers Common to Mobile Device Users and People with Disabilities
    http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/experiences.html
* Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization
    http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview.html

Related information:
* Promoting accessibility through the mobile overlap - Social Networking Application Business Case
    http://www.w3.org/community/wai-engage/wiki/Social_Networking_Application_Business_Case

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

WAI IG email:

Call for Papers: Easy-to-Read on the Web - Online Symposium

Dear WAI Interest Group:

The W3C WAI Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) invites you to contribute to the online symposium on Easy-to-Read on the Web.
Submission date: 12 October 2012
Symposium date: 3 December 2012

This symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, content authors, designers, and developers, and users with disabilities to explore the needs of people with cognitive disabilities or low language skills. It is intended to encourage the development of better guidance, support, and tools for developers, designers, and users, and to inform researchers, standards developers, and policy makers on how to better address easy-to-read on the Web.

We invite research and position papers of about 1,000 words. Submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Accepted papers will be published online in an attributable form as part of the symposium proceedings. Authors of accepted papers will be invited to participate in the symposium panel.

*For more information about the symposium and submissions, please see*:
- Easy-to-Read on the Web main page: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/easy-to-read/>
- Call for Papers: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/easy-to-read/cfp.html>

If you are interested in contributing to this Symposium, please submit your paper by:
*12 October 2012*

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

---------
RDWG Background:

The Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) helps:
- increase accessibility considerations in research on web technologies, including mainstream research,
- suggest research questions that may contribute to web accessibility research projects,
- inform development of web accessibility solutions,
- decrease the number of potential barriers in future web-related technologies.

RDWG Symposia bring together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities interested in a particular aspect of web accessibility to advance research and development in that area. The online Symposia include a panel with the authors of accepted papers, and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions. Symposia proceedings, transcript, and a report are available publicly online afterward.

For more information, see the RDWG FAQ: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/process>

We welcome your ideas on this topic and your ideas for future RDWG work. Please send comments to the publicly-archived mailing list: <public-wai-rd@w3.org>

This Symposium is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/>

If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra: shadi@w3.org

Regards,
Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Simon Harper, RDWG Co-Chair
Shadi Abou-Zahra, RDWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: Web Accessibility Metrics Research Report

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) invites you to comment on the First Public Working Draft of the Research Report on Web Accessibility Metrics, a W3C Working Group Note, available at:
     http://www.w3.org/TR/accessibility-metrics-report/

Accessibility metrics can extend the existing WCAG 2.0 conformance model to provide scores for the accessibility level of websites in more depth and detail. This Report provides considerations for validity, reliability, sensitivity, adequacy, and complexity as the main qualities of measuring web accessibility. The Report is a consolidated view of the outcomes of the Website Accessibility Metrics Online Symposium; information about the Symposium is at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2011/metrics/

For this draft, RDWG is looking for feedback on:
* Summaries of the extended abstracts contributed to the online symposium
* Discussion on the state-of-the-art and conclusions drawn in the document
* Related resources that may be useful to the discussion within the document

Please send comments on this draft document to the publicly archived mailing list
     public-wai-rd-comments@w3.org
     *by 30 September 2012*

Background on RDWG:
The Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) helps:
- increase accessibility considerations in research on web technologies, including mainstream research,
- suggest research questions that may contribute to web accessibility research projects,
- inform development of web accessibility solutions,
- decrease the number of potential barriers in future web-related technologies.
See the RDWG home page <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/> for links to an FAQ and a wiki that includes potential topics for future Symposia.
We welcome your ideas on this topic and your ideas for future RDWG work. Please send comments to the publicly-archived mailing list: public-wai-rd@w3.org

This research report is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

WAI IG email:

Call for Papers: Text Customization for Readability - Online Symposium

Dear WAI Interest Group:

The W3C WAI Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) invites you to contribute to the online symposium on Text Customization for Readability.
Submission date: 24 September 2012
Symposium date: 19 November 2012

This symposium brings together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities to explore the needs of people with low vision, dyslexia, and other conditions and situations that impact reading.

We invite research and position papers of about 1,000 words. We encourage you to submit new research, ongoing research, and analysis of past research related to text customization for readability. Submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Accepted papers will be published online in an attributable form as part of the symposium proceedings. Authors of accepted papers will be invited to participate in the symposium panel.

*For more information about the symposium and submissions, please see*:
- Text Customization for Readability Symposium main page: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/text-customization/>
- Call for Papers: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/text-customization/cfp.html>

If you are interested in contributing to this Symposium, please submit your paper by:
*24 September 2012*

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

---------
RDWG Background:

The Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) helps:
- increase accessibility considerations in research on web technologies, including mainstream research,
- suggest research questions that may contribute to web accessibility research projects,
- inform development of web accessibility solutions,
- decrease the number of potential barriers in future web-related technologies.

RDWG Symposia bring together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities interested in a particular aspect of web accessibility to advance research and development in that area. The online Symposia include a panel with the authors of accepted papers, and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions. Symposia proceedings, transcript, and a report are available publicly online afterward.

For more information, see the RDWG FAQ: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/process>

We welcome your ideas on this topic and your ideas for future RDWG work. Please send comments to the publicly-archived mailing list: <public-wai-rd@w3.org>

This Symposium is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/>

If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra: shadi@w3.org

Regards,
Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Simon Harper, RDWG Co-Chair
Shadi Abou-Zahra, RDWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Indie UI: New Independent User Interface Working Group

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI today launched the new Independent User Interface (Indie UI) Working Group to develop a way for user actions to be communicated to web applications. This will make it easier for web applications to work with a wide range of devices, including assistive technologies (AT).

For example, if a user wants to scroll down a page, they might use their finger on a touch screen, or click a scroll bar with a mouse, or say "scroll down" with a voice command. Indie UI will define a way for those different interactions to be translated into a simple event - scroll down.

Indie UI will allow web application developers to get these events from different devices without having to recognize how the user performed the action. With IndieUI, AT will have a simple set of events to control web applications, and web applications will have a uniform way to design applications that work for multiple devices and contexts.

To learn more about Indie UI, see:
* Indie UI Working Group page http://www.w3.org/WAI/IndieUI/
* Indie UI Chater http://www.w3.org/2012/05/indie-ui-charter

We invite user agent developers, web application developers, and other interested in this work to participate. For options ranging from joining the Working Group to following the e-mail list, see:
* Participating in the Indie UI Working Group http://www.w3.org/WAI/IndieUI/participation

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.
Short URI to this message: @@@@@@@

Regards,
Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Janina Sajka, IndieUI Chair
Michael Cooper, W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: WAI-ARIA User Agent Implementation Guide

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: Applying WCAG to Non-Web ICT

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

WAI invites you to comment on the First Public Working Draft of Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) that is available at:
    http://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/

About this document:
This draft document provides guidance on how Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 can be applied to non-web information and communications technologies (ICT), specifically documents and software. It does not discuss whether or not WCAG 2.0 should be applied to non-Web ICT.
This draft is an informative supporting document for WCAG 2.0. It is not normative, does not set requirements, and does not change the scope of WCAG 2.0 itself. It is planned to be a W3C Working Group Note.

Status:
The WCAG WG believes the structure and approach of this document is complete. It includes existing wording from WCAG 2.0 -- the principles, guidelines, success criteria -- and the Intent sections from Understanding WCAG 2.0. It provides additional guidance on applying each success criteria to electronic documents and software, including the software aspects of products.
In this draft, there are some sections yet to be written (which are indicated with "The WCAG2ICT Task Force has not yet produced additional guidance..."), there are some questions and editor's notes to be addressed, and we expect additional edits based on review comments.

Review and comments:

For this draft, we particularly seek comments on:
* The overall approach of the document.
* The "Additional Guidance" in this draft.
* Additional key terms to be defined in this document.
* Is it necessary or helpful to provide guidance on applying the principles and/or guidelines? (This draft currently provides guidance only for success criteria.) Note that only the success criteria are used for determining conformance to WCAG 2.0.

Comments are welcome on this draft document via the publicly-archived mailing list:
     public-comments-wcag20@w3.org
     *by 7 September 2012*

About the related documents:
* The focus of this review is the Additional Guidance sections (not the wording taken from other documents).
* Understanding WCAG 2.0 is being updated. It will continue to focus on web technologies and not be changed to specifically address non-web ICT.
* WCAG 2.0 itself is a stable Web Standard that will not change.
* If you have comments on the wording taken from WCAG 2.0 or Understanding WCAG 2.0, please read the Instructions for Commenting on WCAG 2.0 Documents at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/

About the URI:
The first URI in this e-mail goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version of this draft is: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-wcag2ict-20120727/
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, W3C, WAI Outreach
Loretta Guarino Reid, Google Inc., WCAG WG Co-Chair
Gregg Vanderheiden, Trace R&D Center, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Andi Snow-Weaver, IBM Corporation, WCAG2ICT TF Co-Facilitator
Mike Pluke, Castle Consulting, WCAG2ICT TF Co-Facilitator
Michael Cooper, W3C, WCAG WG and WCAG2ICT TF Staff Contact
Judy Brewer, W3C, WAI Director

WAI IG email:

Understanding WCAG 2.0: Updates in progress

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The WCAG Working Group is currently updating a supporting document for WCAG 2.0: Understanding WCAG 2.0. (This is not an update to WCAG 2.0, which is a stable document.) The supporting documents (W3C Working Group Notes) are updated periodically to reflect current practices and technologies. The existing Understanding WCAG 2.0 document remains in place as a Note while the separate Editors' Draft is updated and reviewed, and the Working Group addresses comments.

An updated Editors' Draft is available from:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2012/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20120726/

Most of the updates in this Editors' Draft are clarifying the Intent of success criteria. Changes since the January 2012 published version are highlighted in a diff-marked version at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2012/WD-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20120726/complete-diff.html

The Working Group expects to provide another updated Editors' Draft for review in the coming months, and early comments on these updates are welcome. Please send any comments on Understanding WCAG 2.0 via web form or e-mail, per the Instructions for Commenting on WCAG 2.0 Documents at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/

For an introduction to the WCAG documents, see the WCAG Overview at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, WAI Outreach
Gregg Vanderheiden and Loretta Guarino Reid, WCAG Co-Chairs
Michael Cooper, W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Registration Open: Mobile Accessibility - Online Symposium - 25 June 2012

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) invites you to participate in the online symposium on mobile accessibility on 25 June 2012 at 15:00-17:00 UTC. Agenda, logistics, and registration information is available from:
     Mobile Accessibility Online Symposium
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/mobile/

This symposium is intended for researchers and practitioners who want to explore mobile accessibility challenges and solutions, and help develop a roadmap for future research and development. It not include a general introduction to web accessibility. Space is limited; we recommend that you register soon to reserve a space.

About RDWG Symposia:
RDWG Symposia bring together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities interested in a particular aspect of web accessibility to advance research and development in that area. The online Symposia include a panel with the authors of accepted papers, and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions. Symposia proceedings, transcript, and a report are available publicly online afterward.

Background on RDWG:
The Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) helps:
- increase accessibility considerations in research on web technologies, including mainstream research,
- suggest research questions that may contribute to web accessibility research projects,
- inform development of web accessibility solutions,
- decrease the number of potential barriers in future web-related technologies.
See the RDWG home page<http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/> for links to an FAQ and a wiki that includes potential topics for future Symposia.
We welcome your ideas on this topic and your ideas for future RDWG work. Please send comments to the publicly-archived mailing list: public-wai-rd@w3.org

This Symposium is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/

If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra: shadi@w3.org

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.
Short URI to this archived e-mail: http://bit.ly/RDmobileR@@@

WAI IG email:

Subject: ATAG 2.0 Last Call Working Draft published

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

WAI has published an updated Last Call Working Drafts of the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG20/
and an updated Working Draft of Implementing ATAG 2.0 at:
http://www.w3.org/TR/IMPLEMENTING-ATAG20/

Last Call:
This third ATAG 2.0 Last Call Working Draft is provided for public review now that all resolutions from previous comments are incorporated. The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG) hopes that it has resolved all substantive issues with this draft, and looks forward to progressing to the next stages in completing ATAG 2.0. Last Call and the other development stages are described in: How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process at http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process

Test Drive Today:
WAI encourages developers of web authoring tools (content management systems, HTML editors, social networking, and more[1]), to try using the ATAG 2.0 Working Draft now. (While we think it is stable, it might change some based on public feedback and implementation experience.) We are looking forward to learning about your experience implementing ATAG 2.0 in your tools. In the coming months, we'll be asking for tools that meet ATAG 2.0. *Will your tool be an example?*

Recent updates:
For a list of changes since the last draft, see the Status section: http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG20/#status

Comments:
If there are any issues that you think could present a barrier to future adoption and implementation of ATAG 2.0, please submit comments to the publicly-archived list: public-atag2-comments@w3.org by *5 June 2012*

Background:
ATAG defines how authoring tools should help Web developers produce Web content that is accessible and conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. It also defines how to make authoring tools accessible so that people with disabilities can use the tools. ATAG is introduced in the ATAG Overview at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag.php
ATAG is part of a series of accessibility guidelines/standards developed by WAI, which are listed in WAI Guidelines and Techniques at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html
ATAG is developed by the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG), http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/

URI:
The first URIs above go to the latest version of the documents. The "dated" version of these drafts are: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-ATAG20-20120410/ and http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-IMPLEMENTING-ATAG20-20120410//
The difference between these URIs are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments. Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

[1] Examples of authoring tools: http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/atag.php#for

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, WAI Outreach
Jutta Treviranus, AUWG Chair
Jeanne Spellman, AUWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Call for Papers: Mobile Accessibility - Online Symposium

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) invites you to share your experiences with mobile accessibility for an online Symposium to be conducted on 25 June 2012. See:
       Mobile Accessibility Online Symposium
       http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/mobile/

The primary objective of this symposium is to gather, analyze, and discuss practical experience with mobile web accessibility. In particular, the objective is to investigate:
* the technical challenges in terms of API, platform, browser, applications, and web content accessibility;
* the coverage of mobile accessibility by existing standards such as UAAG, WCAG, MWBP, and MWABP;
* new interaction models such as touch interfaces and their accessibility.

RDWG Symposia bring together researchers, practitioners, and users with disabilities interested in a particular aspect of web accessibility to advance research and development in that area. The online Symposia include a panel with the authors of accepted papers, and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions. Symposia proceedings, transcript, and a report are available publicly online afterward.

*If you are interested in contributing to this Symposium*, please submit your paper by:
       *7 May 2012*
via the instructions at:
       http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/2012/mobile/cfp.html

Background on RDWG:
The Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) helps:
- increase accessibility considerations in research on web technologies, including mainstream research,
- suggest research questions that may contribute to web accessibility research projects,
- inform development of web accessibility solutions,
- decrease the number of potential barriers in future web-related technologies.
See the RDWG home page <http://www.w3.org/WAI/RD/> for links to an FAQ and a wiki that includes potential topics for future Symposia.
We welcome your ideas on this topic and your ideas for future RDWG work. Please send comments to the publicly-archived mailing list: public-wai-rd@w3.org

This Symposium is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/

If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra: shadi@w3.org

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.
Short URI to this archived e-mail: http://bit.ly/rdmobile1 [@@ slh remember to set it up @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@]

Regards,
Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Simon Harper, RDWG Co-Chair
Shadi Abou-Zahra, RDWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

WCAG-EM Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology Draft Published

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

WAI invites you to comment on the First Public Working Draft of Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) at:
        http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG-EM/

Overview:
WCAG-EM provides an approach for evaluating how websites -- including web applications and websites for mobile devices -- conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. It covers different situations, including self-assessment and third-party evaluation. It is independent of particular evaluation tools, web browsers, and assistive technologies.

Draft:
This early draft provides an initial outline for the evaluation methodology in order to gather feedback on the general direction and approach, in particular on its Scope of Applicability (Section 2.1). Some sections are empty in this draft and will be completed in future revisions, partly based on the feedback received on this draft.

Background:
WCAG-EM is developed by the WCAG 2.0 Evaluation Methodology Task Force (Eval TF), a joint task force of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG) and Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG). The Eval TF is introduced at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/eval-tf
It is a supporting resource for WCAG 2.0 and does not replace or supersede it in any way. For an overview of WCAG, see http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag
This work is developed with support of the EC-funded WAI-ACT Project (IST 287725) described at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/
It is part of W3C WAI activities on web accessibility evaluation and testing introduced at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/2011/eval/

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Eric Velleman, Eval TF Facilitator
Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C/WAI Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

in wiki

WAI IG email:

Updated WCAG 2.0 Techniques Published - Learn More...

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

W3C WAI today published updates to two supporting documents for Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) 2.0:
- Techniques for WCAG 2.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/
- Understanding WCAG 2.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/

These supporting documents (called W3C Working Group Notes) are updated periodically to reflect current practices and technologies. This is not an update to WCAG 2.0, which is a stable document.

*Please read important information about WCAG Techniques in the following blog post*:
- WCAG Techniques Updated - Learn about the informative guidance
http://www.w3.org/QA/2012/01/wcag_techniques_learn_more.html


For an introduction to the WCAG documents, see:
- WCAG Overview http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php

(Note: The first links above go to the latest version of the documents. The "dated" versions are:
- http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20120103/
- http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/NOTE-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20120103/
The difference between these links are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html)

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Henry, WAI Outreach
Loretta Guarino Reid, WCAG Co-Chair
Gregg Vanderheiden, WCAG Co-Chair
Michael Cooper, W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: Media Accessibility User Requirements

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI Protocols and Formats Working Group (PFWG) invites you to comment on the Working Draft of:
     Media Accessibility User Requirements
     http://www.w3.org/TR/media-accessibility-reqs

This document describes the accessibility requirements of people with disabilities with respect to audio and video on the Web, particularly in the context of HTML5. It explains alternative content technologies that people use to get audio and video content, and how these fit in the larger picture of accessibility, both technically within a web user agent and from a production process point of view. Additional information is in the document's Abstract and Status sections.

This is a First Public Working draft that will continue to be developed. PFWG plans to eventually publish it as a W3C Working Group Note.

WAI encourages you to provide feedback on this draft, particularly:
* Are the use cases for media accessibility clear and complete?
* Do the features to enhance media accessibility meet the use cases?
* Are the technical requirements for media accessibility complete and achievable?

Please send comments by *10 February 2012* to the publicly-archived list via:
* Comment form http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/comments/instructions
Alternatively, you can e-mail comments to public-pfwg-comments@w3.org

(Note: The first link above goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version is:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-media-accessibility-reqs-20120103/
The difference between these links are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html)

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Education and Outreach
Janina Sajka. PFWG Chair
Michael Cooper, PFWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Call for Review: WAI-ARIA 1.0 User Agent Implementation Guide - Last Call Working Draft

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The W3C WAI Protocols and Formats Working Group (PFWG) invites you to comment on the Last Call Working Draft of:
     WAI-ARIA 1.0 User Agent Implementation Guide
     http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-implementation/

This Guide is part of the Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) suite described in:
     WAI-ARIA Overview
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/aria.php

This WAI-ARIA 1.0 User Agent Implementation Guide is for developers of web browsers and other user agents. It describes how user agents should support WAI-ARIA; specifically, how to expose WAI-ARIA features to platform accessibility APIs (application programming interfaces). For more details, see the Abstract at http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-implementation/#abstract

The accessibility API mappings in this Guide will be used to test WAI-ARIA through the "Candidate Recommendation" phase. To learn more about Last Call and Candidate Recommendation, see:
     How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/w3c-process

For review questions, a history of changes, and information on testing with WAI-ARIA, see the Status section at http://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-implementation/#sotd

Please send comments by *17 February 2012* to the publicly-archived list via the comment form available by following the instructions from:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/comments/instructions
Alternatively, you can e-mail comments to public-pfwg-comments@w3.org

(Note: The first link above goes to the latest version of the document. The "dated" version is: http://www.w3.org/TR/2012/WD-wai-aria-implementation-20120110/ The difference between these links are explained in Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents at http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/linking.html)

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your comments.
Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.

Regards,
~Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Education and Outreach
Janina Sajka, PFWG Chair
Michael Cooper, PFWG W3C Staff Contact

WAI IG email:

Registration Open: First WAI-ACT Open Meeting on 14 February 2012 in Brussels, Belgium

Dear WAI Interest Group Participants,

The WAI-ACT Project invites you to participate in its first open meeting on 14 February 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. Agenda, logistics, and registration information is available from:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/meeting1

This meeting is intended for web accessibility practitioners, researchers, and users to:
     - Learn more about the WAI-ACT Project
     - Provide input into project developments
     - Explore opportunities for collaboration

We encourage you to participate if you are interested in:
     - Authoritative guidance on the implementation of accessibility in advanced web technologies
     - Internationally harmonized methodologies to support evaluation of websites for accessibility
     - Common visions and contribution to a coordinated eAccessibility research agenda

We particularly invite participants involved in relevant projects, initiatives, and activities with interest in expanded cooperation in Europe and internationally on the development of accessibility solutions.

Background on the WAI-ACT Project:
The WAI-ACT Project is designed to build upon and expand W3C/WAI cooperation mechanisms to help address the need for expanded European and international cooperation on the development of accessibility solutions for people with disabilities. See more information about the WAI-ACT Project and its deliverables:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/ACT/

If you have any questions, contact Shadi Abou-Zahra: shadi@w3.org

Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid cross-postings where possible.
Short URI to this archived e-mail: http://bit.ly/waiact1 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Regards,
Shawn Lawton Henry, WAI Outreach
Shadi Abou-Zahra, WAI-ACT Scientific Coordinator