Should ACT require the formats for rules to be localizable?

[bert-github]

(This is part of the i18n review.)

4. ACT Rule Structure
   https://www.w3.org/TR/2024/WD-act-rules-format-1.1-20240618/#act-rule-structure

quote_the_text

ACT requires formats for storing rules to be able to contain human-readable text and be accessible (e.g., HTML,
DOCX or PDF), but does not require that they are localizable. (Or does ‘accessible’ implies being localizable?)

[daniel-montalvo]

Hi @bert-github

Certainly I think it was the intent to make internationalization easier by having the format be accessible. But I think we could clarify this more.

What about changing:

In addition to supporting people with disabilities, using an accessible format also makes internationalization of ACT Rules easier.

to

In addition to supporting people with disabilities, using an accessible and localizable format also makes internationalization of ACT Rules easier.

Would this change solve this issue?

We are open to other ways we can clarify this, though.

[daniel-montalvo]

Hi @bert-github

Has the group had a chance to review my comment above? Would the group be OK if we proceed as indicated in my comment?

[aphillips]

The I18N Working Group discussed this in our call of 2025-02-06. Our feeling is that we're not quite satisfied yet.

The current text in full says:

The ACT Rules format does not prescribe what format ACT Rules can be written in (e.g. HTML, DOCX, PDF, etc.). However, ACT Rules must be written in a document that conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WCAG22] or a comparable accessibility standard. This ensures that ACT Rules are accessible to people with disabilities. ACT Rule test cases are allowed to contain inaccessible content. If any test case contains accessibility issues listed in WCAG 2.2 Section 5.2.5 Non-Interference, users must be warned of this in advance. In addition to supporting people with disabilities, using an accessible format also makes internationalization of ACT Rules easier.

Our concern here is that "using an accessible format" may or may not enable the internationalization or localization of the resultant rule. When rules contain natural language text, whether as normative content or as documentation, a simple string cannot cover the needs of a global audience and the WCAG2.2 guidelines do not provide (or prohibit) rules being localized. Since you don't prescribe a specific, concrete format, you cannot require a specific localization solution, but you should include the localization of an ACT Rule as a consideration for someone developing ACT Rules.

A solution here would be to recommend or allow for an ACT Rule to be localized. Thus, I would suggest replacing this sentence:

In addition to supporting people with disabilities, using an accessible format also makes internationalization of ACT Rules easier.

With a more direct normative statement:

ACT Rules SHOULD use a localizable format, such that a rule can contain multiple language representations or so that translations of the rule can be easily created.

For more information see Strings on the Web: Language and Direction Metadata and this section of our best practices.