WCAG 2.0 Last Call - extended deadline 22 June 2006

Please note that the deadline for comments on WCAG 2.0 has been extended by three weeks. The new deadline is now Thursday 22 June 2006 instead of 31 May 2006, to allow more time due to the wider attention that this Last Call Working Draft is receiving. We thank early commenters for the numerous constructive comments that the Working Group has already received; the Working Group is already working on your comments. Please also note the following clarifications with regard to the review process.

1. The deadline for comments on the Last Call Working Draft only applies to the Guidelines document itself. The supporting documents (”Understanding WCAG 2.0″ and “Techniques for WCAG 2.0″) do not have a deadline for comments, though you may find them helpful in understanding or implementing the provisions in the guidelines. We welcome comments on the supporting documents in addition to comments on the guidelines, but we encourage you to focus your attention on the relatively short guidelines document itself during the review period.
2. While the Working Group has provided a form for comment submissions, you may also email comments directly to the comments list without the form. Some commenters have already done this; we’ve now made this more obvious in the commenting instructions [1]. However, if you do use the comments form, it will give the Working Group consistent and specific information that can help them better understand and address the issues that you raise.
3. Under W3C Process, a “Last Call Working Draft” is not the last step before the document is finished; neither is it the beginning of the review process. This Last Call Working Draft follows a series of Public Working Drafts that have been previously circulated for comment, and the Working Group has already incorporated extensive contributions from those reviews. Last Call Working Draft is one of the most important stages at which to comment; however it is followed by another stage, Candidate Recommendation, where reviewers can submit comments based on implementations of WCAG 2.0; then by Proposed Recommendation, when W3C Members review it for approval as a Recommendation. Please see the “Instructions for commenting on WCAG 2.0″ page, which provide more information on these stages.

Review comments are extremely valuable to W3C/WAI. One of the strengths of W3C/WAI’s process is that it encourages broad public review and participation from many different perspectives. We have received contributions throughout the course of developing WCAG 2.0 from individuals and organizations around the world, including disability organizations, industry, Web developers research, education, government, and other areas, as well as contributions throughout the process from the diverse membership of the WCAG Working Group itself.

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read the guidelines while they are in Last Call Working Draft; evaluate them against your own needs and expectations; then share with the Working Group your comments on what you think needs to change in the document. As with any W3C group during Last Call, the WCAG Working Group will review and respond to all comments received on the Last Call Working Draft. Your comments help us to create the best and most usable document that we can.