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From: Jim Allan
Date: Wed, Aug 19 2015 3:05PM
Subject: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
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The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has established a Low Vision
Accessibility Task Force to develop more specific guidance on low vision
accessibility related to content (WCAG 2.0) and browsers (UAAG 2.0).[1]


The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force home page is:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/


The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force expects to:

* Document requirements for low vision users;

* Identify gaps in the above requirements between user needs and how
they are met by web sites that conform to WCAG 2.0;

* Document sufficient and advisory techniques and failures for WCAG 2.0
to meet low vision user needs;

* Define low vision use cases which user agents need to support;

* Develop an extension to WCAG 2.0 to address low-vision user needs
effectively;

* Develop support materials to explain the issues and implementation of
the above resources effectively.


The Task Force seeks to bring together individuals and organizations to
contribute to this W3C/WAI work.


We *invite you to contribute to the Low Vision Accessibility Task Force*.

* Active participation in the Task Force takes about 4 hours per week,
including teleconferences.

* Participation is through either the WCAG Working Group or the UAAG
Working Group.

* More about participation is at <
http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/#participation>;

If you cannot commit that much time, you can still review draft documents.
To get announcements of drafts for review, see <
http://www.w3.org/WAI/about/announcements>;.


[1] WCAG & UAAG:

* WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is introduced at <
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag>;.

* UAAG, the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines for browsers and other
'user agents', is introduced at <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/uaag>;.

Please let us know if you have any questions.


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


Regards,

Jim Allan, LVTF Facilitator, UAWG Chair
Andrew Kirkpatrick LVTF Facilitator, WCAG Co-Chair

Joshue O Connor, WCAG WG Co-Chair

Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Team Contact
Jeanne Spellman, UAWG Team Contact

--
[image: http://www.tsbvi.edu] <http://www.tsbvi.edu>;Jim Allan,
Accessibility Coordinator
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964

From: lcmcevoy
Date: Wed, Aug 19 2015 9:03PM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
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So glad to hear about this. I've felt the needs of low vision users have been overlooked. Thanks for this Jim.

Laurie


On Aug 19, 2015, at 5:05 PM, Jim Allan < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has established a Low Vision
> Accessibility Task Force to develop more specific guidance on low vision
> accessibility related to content (WCAG 2.0) and browsers (UAAG 2.0).[1]
>
>
> The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force home page is:
>
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/
>
>
> The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force expects to:
>
> * Document requirements for low vision users;
>
> * Identify gaps in the above requirements between user needs and how
> they are met by web sites that conform to WCAG 2.0;
>
> * Document sufficient and advisory techniques and failures for WCAG 2.0
> to meet low vision user needs;
>
> * Define low vision use cases which user agents need to support;
>
> * Develop an extension to WCAG 2.0 to address low-vision user needs
> effectively;
>
> * Develop support materials to explain the issues and implementation of
> the above resources effectively.
>
>
> The Task Force seeks to bring together individuals and organizations to
> contribute to this W3C/WAI work.
>
>
> We *invite you to contribute to the Low Vision Accessibility Task Force*.
>
> * Active participation in the Task Force takes about 4 hours per week,
> including teleconferences.
>
> * Participation is through either the WCAG Working Group or the UAAG
> Working Group.
>
> * More about participation is at <
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/#participation>;
>
> If you cannot commit that much time, you can still review draft documents.
> To get announcements of drafts for review, see <
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/about/announcements>;.
>
>
> [1] WCAG & UAAG:
>
> * WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is introduced at <
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag>;.
>
> * UAAG, the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines for browsers and other
> 'user agents', is introduced at <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/uaag>;.
>
> Please let us know if you have any questions.
>
>
> Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid
> cross-postings where possible.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Jim Allan, LVTF Facilitator, UAWG Chair
> Andrew Kirkpatrick LVTF Facilitator, WCAG Co-Chair
>
> Joshue O Connor, WCAG WG Co-Chair
>
> Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Team Contact
> Jeanne Spellman, UAWG Team Contact
>
> --
> [image: http://www.tsbvi.edu] <http://www.tsbvi.edu>;Jim Allan,
> Accessibility Coordinator
> Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
> 1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
> voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
> "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
> > > >

From: Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Wed, Aug 19 2015 10:45PM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - SeekingParticipation
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I agree! Long overlooked group of users. I'm hopeful the new task force can give us guidance on how to improve our work for these users.

From: Léonie Watson
Date: Thu, Aug 20 2015 2:54AM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force -SeekingParticipation
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The creation of this W3C TF is very welcome. Coupled with the TF already looking into accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities [1], it's a positive step towards closing the gaps in WCAG.

I'd be interested to know what people think about WCAG extensions for people in these user groups being optional though. The draft charter for the WCAG Working Group [2] states "ensure that extensions are optional and are not required for conformance to WCAG 2.0".

It's understandable that WCAG 2.0 itself can't be amended, but is a set of separate optional extensions the best approach? Is there a way to incorporate the much needed guidance for cognitive and low vision (in a timely fashion), without conveying the message that accessibility for these groups is optional?

One suggestion is WCAG 2.1, consisting of WCAG 2.0 as it stands (possibly with editorial corrections), plus the extensions for low vision and cognitive. Although WCAG 2.1 would itself be optional, particularly where WCAG 2.0 is required in law, it would present a clear and holistic set of guidelines for people to use if they wish - without raising the possibility that accessibility for certain groups might be optional.

Léonie.


[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/cognitive-a11y-tf/
[2] http://www.w3.org/2015/04/draft-wcag-charter

--
Senior accessibility engineer @PacielloGroup @LeonieWatson

From: Laura Carlson
Date: Thu, Aug 20 2015 12:41PM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
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Hi Leonie,

One thing to remember is that nothing is stopping entities, including
legal entities from mandating WCAG 2.0 plus an extension as soon as
said extension is available.

You will note that in section 3.2 "Dependencies & Liaisons" of the
draft charter the following groups are listed:

* U.S. Access Board
* European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
* European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
* European Commission
* RERC for the Advancement of Cognitive Technologies
* RERC on Universal Interface and Information Technology Access

From what I have gathered going the extension route is expected to be
faster than a WCAG 2.1 or 3.0.

Kindest Regards,
Laura

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Léonie Watson" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
To: < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >, "'WebAIM Discussion List'"
< = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Cc:
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2015 09:54:08 +0100
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force -
Seeking Participation
The creation of this W3C TF is very welcome. Coupled with the TF
already looking into accessibility for people with cognitive
disabilities [1], it's a positive step towards closing the gaps in
WCAG.

I'd be interested to know what people think about WCAG extensions for
people in these user groups being optional though. The draft charter
for the WCAG Working Group [2] states "ensure that extensions are
optional and are not required for conformance to WCAG 2.0".

It's understandable that WCAG 2.0 itself can't be amended, but is a
set of separate optional extensions the best approach? Is there a way
to incorporate the much needed guidance for cognitive and low vision
(in a timely fashion), without conveying the message that
accessibility for these groups is optional?

One suggestion is WCAG 2.1, consisting of WCAG 2.0 as it stands
(possibly with editorial corrections), plus the extensions for low
vision and cognitive. Although WCAG 2.1 would itself be optional,
particularly where WCAG 2.0 is required in law, it would present a
clear and holistic set of guidelines for people to use if they wish -
without raising the possibility that accessibility for certain groups
might be optional.

Léonie.


[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/cognitive-a11y-tf/
[2] http://www.w3.org/2015/04/draft-wcag-charter

--
Laura Carlson

From: Jared Smith
Date: Thu, Aug 20 2015 12:51PM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
← Previous message | Next message →

Laura Carlson wrote:

> From what I have gathered going the extension route is expected to be
> faster than a WCAG 2.1 or 3.0.

There's no doubt that WCAG extensions will be "faster" and "easier".
But will that approach result in "better" guidelines?

Most of the discussions on this topic have been focused on standards
harmonization and process and making things better for W3C
contributors and government policy makers, yet there's virtually no
conversation about whether this will result in optimal guidelines for
web authors and people with disabilities in the long run.

We trust the W3C to take on difficult things, like updating WCAG. But
if they won't, I think web authors, AT and browser vendors, and policy
makers will naturally begin to look elsewhere for up-to-date guidance
(as they did when WCAG 1 became antiquated and when HTML5 became mired
in lengthy delays and bureaucracy).

Jared

From: Laura Carlson
Date: Thu, Aug 20 2015 1:28PM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Jared,

> There's no doubt that WCAG extensions will be "faster" and "easier".
> But will that approach result in "better" guidelines?

From what I have gathered that is the goal. As stated in the low
vision task force work statement:

<quote>
The objective of the Low Vision Accessibility Task Force is to
identify issues and specify solutions to web accessibility issues
specific to users with low vision via WCAG 2.0 techniques,
understanding and guidance documents, and as needed to produce
extensions to WCAG 2.0. Since many of the low vision issues may be
addressed through the browser, this work will also include references
and use cases related to UAAG 2.0. This work includes:

* Document requirements for low vision users;
* Identify gaps in the above requirements between user needs and how
they are met by web sites that conform to WCAG 2.0;
* Document sufficient and advisory techniques and failures for WCAG
2.0 to meet low vision user needs;
* Define low vision use cases which user agents need to support;
* Develop extension to WCAG 2.0 to address low-vision user needs effectively;
* Develop support materials to explain the issues and implementation
of the above resources effectively.

Approach

Initially the Task Force will refine the scope of work need to provide
complete information on how to support low vision accessibility. The
work will likely be broken down into modular components that can be
used as independent resources or as part of a cohesive suite. The
individual components of the Low Vision A11Y Task Force's work may be
developed as W3C Recommendations, W3C Working Group Notes, or other
W3C / WAI resources. This will be decided after the development of an
initial, more detailed set of requirements for handling accessibility
for low vision users.

The work will be carried out iteratively with continual involvement of
the public throughout the development. In particular, key stakeholders
such as developers, evaluators, experts, researchers, and users will
be regularly involved in the development process of the work of the
Low Vision Accessibility Task Force.
<unquote>

[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/work-statement

Kindest Regards,
Laura
--
Laura L. Carlson

From: Chaals McCathie Nevile
Date: Sat, Aug 22 2015 9:58AM
Subject: Re: W3C-WAI Low Vision Accessibility Task Force - Seeking Participation
← Previous message | No next message

On Thu, 20 Aug 2015 05:03:52 +0200, lcmcevoy < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> So glad to hear about this. I've felt the needs of low vision users
> have been overlooked. Thanks for this Jim.

Indeed, and thank you for reaching out widely.

Now to find network so I can join up, and time to do work.

cheers

> Laurie
>
>
> On Aug 19, 2015, at 5:05 PM, Jim Allan < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
>> The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has established a Low Vision
>> Accessibility Task Force to develop more specific guidance on low vision
>> accessibility related to content (WCAG 2.0) and browsers (UAAG 2.0).[1]
>>
>>
>> The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force home page is:
>>
>> http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/
>>
>>
>> The Low Vision Accessibility Task Force expects to:
>>
>> * Document requirements for low vision users;
>>
>> * Identify gaps in the above requirements between user needs and how
>> they are met by web sites that conform to WCAG 2.0;
>>
>> * Document sufficient and advisory techniques and failures for WCAG
>> 2.0
>> to meet low vision user needs;
>>
>> * Define low vision use cases which user agents need to support;
>>
>> * Develop an extension to WCAG 2.0 to address low-vision user needs
>> effectively;
>>
>> * Develop support materials to explain the issues and implementation
>> of
>> the above resources effectively.
>>
>>
>> The Task Force seeks to bring together individuals and organizations to
>> contribute to this W3C/WAI work.
>>
>>
>> We *invite you to contribute to the Low Vision Accessibility Task
>> Force*.
>>
>> * Active participation in the Task Force takes about 4 hours per week,
>> including teleconferences.
>>
>> * Participation is through either the WCAG Working Group or the UAAG
>> Working Group.
>>
>> * More about participation is at <
>> http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/low-vision-a11y-tf/#participation>;
>>
>> If you cannot commit that much time, you can still review draft
>> documents.
>> To get announcements of drafts for review, see <
>> http://www.w3.org/WAI/about/announcements>;.
>>
>>
>> [1] WCAG & UAAG:
>>
>> * WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is introduced at <
>> http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag>;.
>>
>> * UAAG, the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines for browsers and other
>> 'user agents', is introduced at <http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/uaag>;.
>>
>> Please let us know if you have any questions.
>>
>>
>> Feel free to circulate this message to other lists; please avoid
>> cross-postings where possible.
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Jim Allan, LVTF Facilitator, UAWG Chair
>> Andrew Kirkpatrick LVTF Facilitator, WCAG Co-Chair
>>
>> Joshue O Connor, WCAG WG Co-Chair
>>
>> Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Team Contact
>> Jeanne Spellman, UAWG Team Contact
>>
>> --
>> [image: http://www.tsbvi.edu] <http://www.tsbvi.edu>;Jim Allan,
>> Accessibility Coordinator
>> Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
>> 1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
>> voice 512.206.9315 fax: 512.206.9264 http://www.tsbvi.edu/
>> "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964
>> >> >> >> >
> > > > --
Charles McCathie Nevile - web standards - CTO Office, Yandex
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = - - - Find more at http://yandex.com