I have, at last, located my absolute favourite submitted comment on the topic of WCAG 2 (all text, including character encoding, sic):
Pat yourselves on the back and don\'t let anyone tell you otherwise, your docum entation is FANTASTIC. I found it very helpful while redesigning the interface for Safari Books Online to meet WCAG 2.0 guidelines (not an easy task). Your co mpliance techniques were indispensable. All the techniques are well-written, cr istal clear, and \"trustworthy\" meaning that I know the techniques are based o n what works for real people, not just in theory. Thanks to you, I have a proto type I and the client can be proud of. Your efforts continue to ensure that com pliance isn\'t something you do to \"get the sticker\", but something you do to make sites better for everyone…. Treat yourselves, you deserve it. Don\'t forget to post those party photos. :-)
Who is the author of this, the very first and only unqualified rave for WCAG 2? Hanna Kutcher, come on down!
Update
(2006.07.07) I asked Hanna for comments for attribution “as to why you think you are right in declaring WCAG 2 to be ‘FANTASTIC,’ ‘cr[y]stal clear,’ and ‘well written’ when the rest of the industry and all other commenters thought otherwise.” Her response:
I genuinely think WCAG 2.0 documentation is great. I told Gregg Vanderheiden at Trace as much when I started talking to him for a recent project (alter Safari Books Online to be accessible) and he suggested I post my praise. (I also spoke with John Slatin….) I meant every word. I can’t imagine what issues others would have with WCAG 2. Putting together Web standards – any standards – is a difficult job and doing so for accessibility is even harder. Many things are subjective and difficult to pin down. But the Techniques for WCAG 2 does just that. Could “Add a link at the top of each page that goes directly to the main content area” (under Techniques for Addressing Success Criterion 2.4.1) be any more crystal clear? I don’t think so. It spells it out. When you click on the link, it takes you to the appropriate document, which even includes a link to the “Skip Navigation Links” article by Jim Thatcher (the EXACT reference I used).
I offered praise, because praise is due. I’m thrilled WCAG documents exist, I’m even more thankful I did not have to write them myself, and I think the authors deserve a break. Better to have something than nothing. There will always be room for disagreement and you’re never going to have a “perfect” draft, so get over it. Move forward. Love what you have.