1. Introduction
A detailed exposition of this case may be found in the report prepared by the W3C Team.
In late 2024, an AC review was initiated on the matter of obsoleting the Vibration API (Second Edition) recommendation. In response to that review, two Formal Objections were filed. The Devices and Sensors WG (DAS WG) resolved at TPAC 2024 to obsolete the current recommendation version of the Vibration API (Second Edition) and publish a new recommendation-track version of the specification as a Candidate Recommendation Snapshot (CRS). One Formal Objection was resolved after the DAS WG made this decision. The other Formal Objection, and subject of this report, was not resolved.
A Council was then formed to rule on this remaining objection. This Council Report documents the conclusions of this Council.
2. Decision
The Council resolved to uphold the objection.
3. Rationale
This Council recognizes that the situation with the Vibration API (Second Edition) and its publication status has become complicated. The document is currently in Candidate Recommendation Draft status. According to the Process, it is not possible to Obsolete a Candidate Recommendation.
It is possible to regress a document along the recommendation track. In accordance with this process, the DAS WG has already regressed the Vibration API (Second Edition) to a Candidate Recommendation Snapshot. This regression is intended to allow the WG to continue work on the document, and to address the concerns raised in the Formal Objection.
Lastly, the Process does have a method for abandoning a draft, however this process is intended for Any Recommendation-track technical report no longer intended to advance or to be maintained.
As DAS WG is currently working on the document with the intent to improve it, this feels like an inappropriate action to recommend.
4. Recommendations
The Council recommends that the DAS WG continue their work on the Vibration API’s Candidate Recommendation Draft in accordance with the publication process.
This Council encourages the DAS WG to address the privacy and security concerns that initiated the obsoletion process. We recommend that the WG document what implementation experience the API currently has (issue 33). In the next rechartering process for the DAS WG, we anticipate that some W3C members will object to keeping a deliverable without a concrete plan and timeline for shipping in multiple major browser engines. We have not looked for consensus on that question in this Council, and we recommend that the WG document the plan it thinks is best, whether or not that plan includes implementation in multiple browser engines, and a compelling rationale to help any reviewers decide whether the plan is acceptable.
Appendix A: Council Participation
The Council was formed on 2025-06-10 from the members of the TAG and the AB, plus the CEO. Tim Berners-Lee renounced his seat on the Council; no-one was dismissed. Therefore, the actual membership of this council was:
- Daniel Appelquist
- Matthew Atkinson
- Hadley Beeman
- Marcos Cáceres
- Sarven Capadisli
- Tantek Çelik
- Wei Ding
- Seth Dobbs
- Elika Etemad
- Max Gendler
- Xiaocheng Hu
- Tatsuya Igarashi
- Elena Lape
- Dapeng Liu
- Tristan Nitot
- Lola Odelola
- Wendy Reid
- Avneesh Singh
- Martin Thomson
- Chris Wilson
- Song XU
- Jeffrey Yasskin
Max Gendler was appointed as chair.
Of those qualified to serve, the following participated in the final decision:
- Daniel Appelquist
- Matthew Atkinson
- Hadley Beeman
- Marcos Cáceres
- Sarven Capadisli
- Tantek Çelik
- Wei Ding
- Seth Dobbs
- Elika Etemad
- Max Gendler
- Tatsuya Igarashi
- Elena Lape
- Dapeng Liu
- Lola Odelola
- Wendy Reid
- Avneesh Singh
- Martin Thomson
- Chris Wilson
- Song XU
- Jeffrey Yasskin
The decision was made by consensus.