

The Problem with WCAG (was RE: CSS Techniques for WCAG 2.0)

From: RUST Randal <RRust@COVANSYS.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:54:18 -0400
Message-ID: <1A729C6059E7CD4CA1DFE3985E6004210623ADE0@fth-ex02.CVNS.corp.covansys.com>

Patrick Lauke wrote:

> Again, because WCAG is more than just a set of technical
> specs relating to syntax, whose validity can be verified 
> programmatically, checking for accessibility will always 
> require interpretation by (hopefully) knowledgeable 
> individuals. Coupled with the huge number of possible "real 
> world" scenarios, there will always be certain gray areas. 
> Maybe we need a lot more best practice examples, but at the 
> core I don't think it will be possible (or easy anyway) to 
> pin all the points down for definite.

This is precisely the problem with WCAG, in any version. It is too
ambiguous. If the guidelines were all clear, such as using ALT
attributes, they would be more widely understood, accepted and

It needs to get away from ludicrous requirements that require content to
be comprehensible -- because that's not a measurable guideline.
Therefore it should simply be left up to the developer or designer. Why
does WCAG bother mentioning something like that at all? It just creates

Randal Rust
Covansys Corp.
Columbus, OH
Received on Thursday, 19 August 2004 12:54:46 UTC
