The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is fielding public commentary on the final working draft of its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines until March 19, 1999.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is part of a series of accessibility guidelines published by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative. The series also includes the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines and the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, formerly entitled "WAI Page Author Guidelines", explain to web content developers (a.k.a. web page authors) how to make their pages more accessible to people with disabilities. Following these guidelines will also make pages more useful to people using a broad range of devices, such as desktop browsers, voice browsers, mobile phones, automobile-based PC's, etc., and to search engines. Tools that create Web content (such as HTML editors, document conversion tools, tools that generate Web content from databases, etc.) should generate content that is consistent with these guidelines.
The Guidelines have been organized as follows:
The Guidelines document includes a conformance statement that explains how documents or processes may claim conformance to the Guidelines.
The Guidelines are accompanied by another document, entitled "Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines." The Techniques document explains in detail how authors may implement the checkpoints enumerated in the Guidelines. (Please note that the Techniques document, which continues to evolve, is not entering "last call", although comments about techniques are still welcome.)
The Guidelines have been produced by the W3C's Page Author Guidelines Working Group as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines have now entered "Last Call" status. Within the W3C, "Last Call" status signifies a final review period before a working draft becomes a "Proposed Recommendation", the W3C's term for an official specification. Once the "Last Call" period ends on March 19, 1999, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines will then be circulated to W3C Member organizations for review--the final step in deciding whether the Guidelines will or will not become a W3C Recommendation.
Since this is the last opportunity to comment on the Web Content Guidelines, you are strongly urged to take the time to review the Working Draft, in order to ensure that the guidelines contained therein accurately reflect your concerns about the accessibility of the web.
Once the "last call" period has ended, all comments have been evaluated, and the W3C Director, Tim Berners-Lee, has reviewed the document, the Guidelines will become a Proposed Recommendation.
Once you have reviewed the Web Content Guidelines you can forward your comments to the WAI by March 19, 1999, using the following eddress:
w3c-wai-gl@w3.org
All comments, and responses to them, will be archived for public reference. Comments that you wish to keep private, and which will only be review by W3C Members may be sent to:
w3c-wai-cg@w3.org
Please note that the "Last Call" period ends on March 19, 1999, and that the Working Group will not be able to incorporate "Last Call" comments which are received after this date.
Please address any questions and comments about this page to VICUG NYC's WebMonster, Gregory J. Rosmaita, <oedipus@hicom.net>
This page was created on February 29, 1999
Converted to HTML4 & CSS2
on March 10, 1999
Contents of this document last modified March 10, 1999