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Users1st

Discussion about TPAC 2020 breakout session "What would it mean for W3C to REALLY prioritize end users?"

File an issue to propose a specific problem to address, a possible way to address the problems, how to build a community to follow up on the breakout, etc. Or file a pull request on this README.md file to clarify/correct/amplify the points here.

What would it mean for W3C to REALLY prioritize end users?

There has been much discussion recently (See especially https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/ethical-web-principles, https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8890.html and https://www.mnot.net/blog/2020/08/28/for_the_users, https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/10/we-fight-users) on this topic. It's not clear what it would mean CONCRETELY for W3C to prioritize the needs of end-users over those of the platform implementers, website developers, "horizontal" specialists, and researchers who make up most of W3C's membership.

What are some concrete problems caused by standards bodies such as W3C not paying sufficient attention to end user needs?

Some mentioned in RFC 8890 include:

  • "As the [web] increasingly mediates essential functions in societies, it has unavoidably become profoundly political; it has helped people overthrow governments, revolutionize social orders, swing elections, control populations, collect data about individuals, and reveal secrets. It has created wealth for some individuals and companies while destroying that of others"
  • "Merely advancing the measurable success of the [web ...] is not an adequate goal; doing so ignores how technology is so often used as a lever to assert power over users, rather than empower them."
  • "... the Internet of Things (IoT) has not yet seen the broad adoption of a [user agent] role; many current systems require opaque, vendor-specific software or hardware for the user-facing component. Perhaps as a result of this, that ecosystem and its end users face serious challenges."

What are some specific examples we can use to focus our thinking?

What can the web standards community, especially W3C, do to address these problems?

  • Clarify the responsibility to consult with the greater internet community / engage with specifically affected communities when making decisions that might affect them?

  • Work harder to identify negative end-user impact early in the spec-development / feature incubation process?

  • Develop techniques to handle conflicting end user needs and find solutions that all can live with? For example, RFC 8890 says: "There may be cases where genuine technical need requires compromise.However, such trade-offs are carefully examined and avoided whenthere are alternate means of achieving the desired goals. If they cannot be, these choices and reasoning ought to be thoroughly documented.

  • Double down on the idea that browsers/user agents MUST serve the user's interests rather than the interests of those building the site being displayed, the organization building the browser engine, the organizations developing standards, etc.?

Can we suggest concrete best practices, Process changes, value statements, governance changes, etc. to ensure that the users' perspective is considered?

What additional challenges can we anticipate if we dig into this topic?

  • What if some set of current members whose business models depend on making some decisions on the users' behalf object, do they get to formally object to W3C changing the ground rules?
  • Is there a risk of "bikeshedding" this subject to the point where we distract people from doing actual standards work?

Obviously there's WAY too much to discuss in 50 minutes over Zoom, but if we use some forum (maybe this repo) to identify the most fruitful topics to discuss, and how to continue the conversation after TPAC, we might make some progress!

References