We have spent considerable time before last call discussing issues surrounding the user interface providing information about the current input configuration and the accesskey information to the user. I would like to summarize the discussion and propose a resolution to this issue so that we can move the document forward. In the later case static documentation can be used to provide information to the user on the current configuration. Other checkpoints address the accessibility of static documentation.
Static documentation can also explain how accesskeys is supported on a particular user agent.
Accesskeys is a currently the only know way to the UA group for authors to provide document specific short cuts to links and form controls. Some people in the UA group feel that accesskey specifications are an extension to the user interface and the responsibility of the user agent to document their existence in a particular document, while others feel that accesskeys is part of the authors content and it is the responsibility of the author to provide information on their existence in the resource. Currently only IE implements the accesskey feature. Accesskey is currently a priority 3 requirement in WCAG for authors to include in their document and a Priority 3 requirement in ATAG for authoring tools to support authors including in their documents. I have not seen any requests for changes in priority of these requirements to either of these two working groups to raise the priority of the use or authoring of accesskeys.