Topic: WCAG 2.1
- Why do we care about WCAG? because CU Boulder policy is to ensure that all of our digital resources comply to WCAG 2.0 at the AA level.
- Quick way to remember what the levels mean from the WCAG 1.0 specification: To ensure accessibility, there are some things the developer must do (A), some they should do (AA), and some that they may choose to do (AAA).
- WCAG 1.0 came out in 1999, WCAG 2.0 in 2008.
- One of the reasons why WCAG 2.0 is still very relevant 9 years later is that most technology-specific requirements have been placed into the Techniques and Understanding sections rather than the standard itself.
- As as result, the standard is written in very high level, abstract language that can be hard to understand.
- Main reason for WCAG 2.1 and later 3.0 is to add new critieria for touch based interfaces
- Examples of new rules from 2.1: applying minimum contrast requirements to icons, not only to text; supporting "linearization", i.e. the ability to render long stretches of text as easy to read blocks; ensuring that a mobile application remains fully functional in both landscape and portrait orientation.
Open discussion topics
- Does WCAG apply to non-web content like digital signs?
- What part of digital sign accessibility is about the physical dimension and what is about the digital?