Real time accessibility

What can we do to make apps for real time collaboration, like Google Docs, more accessible?

This month, W3C published a new document called CTAUR (Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements). Previous docs in this ‘series’ include XAUR (on XR), NAUR (on natural language interfaces like voice agents and chatbots), SAUR (on synchronisation in media, like that of captions and video) and RAUR (on RTC). The Accessible Platform Architectures (APA) Working Group bas been busy in the last few years. Note, these are all non-normative.

CTAUR covers a number of aspects that go beyond WCAG:

Real-time and asynchronous co-editing (including things like where are other people in the document currently)
Annotation of content with comments
Comparing revisions
Suggested changes
Access controls

For each, it describes users needs and corresponding requirements.

Hidde de Vries (@hdv@front-end.social) is a web enthusiast and accessibility specialist from Rotterdam (The Netherlands). He currently works with the NL Design System team and is a participant in the Open UI Community Group. Previously, he worked for W3C (WAI), Mozilla, the Dutch government and others as a freelancer. Hidde spoke at 71 events, most recently in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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