Where's WCAG?

The Web Standards Project carries a progress interview with Judy Brewer from W3C on how the new accessibility standard - WCAG 2.0 - is going.

This may arrive in final form by year's end - no promises though. It represents a significant expansion in covering technologies previously ignored in the largely HTML-focussed existing accessibility standards.

• Brewer sees WCAG2 as a boon for developers as they'll be able to create accessible content "without having as many constraints on the technologies that they use".
• They're now on the 'second Last Call Working Draft'.
• Comment is encouraged, however, and has already resulted "in significant improvements"
• One is recognition that it "does not cover all possible solutions for cognitive disability issues", they think this "require(s) more research and development"
• They "want it to be useful for diverse audiences", so will produce Quick Reference guidance
• Calling it WCAG 2.0 rather than WCAG 1.1 is deliberate, an echo of Web 2.0
• Brewer believes that "a quantum leap in accessibility of the Web will come when support for production of accessible content is built into mainstream authoring tools". To this end, authoring tool standards are also changing..

• How WAI Develops Accessibility Guidelines through the W3C Process: Milestones and Opportunities to Contribute.