Review Verifiable Credentials Status List v2021

[ghurlbot]

due 18 May 2023

https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-status-list/

[lwolberg]

As discussed today, I was asked to share the direction I would like to go in, on behalf of APA, in response.

The Verifiable Credentials Status List Specification (https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-status-list/) is a low-level specification and does not directly propose a user interface (UI). However, we believe that incorporating certain enhancements to the provision of metadata can still significantly enhance the overall user experience (UX).

The specification currently proposes a compressed bit string. While this is highly efficient for data transmission, it places much of the interpretive burden on the processors and, subsequently, on any user interface that these processors might serve. This could potentially lead to inconsistent experiences for the end users, depending on the capabilities of the different interfaces.

One way to address this issue would be to include some form of preview metadata along with the compressed bit string. The addition of preview metadata can facilitate a higher level of abstraction, allowing user interfaces to understand and interpret the data more accurately and consistently, even before the full data is processed. This can lead to improved responsiveness and more predictable behavior across various user interfaces.

The accessibility section as a result could read:

While this specification does not explicitly detail a User Interface (UI) or User Experience (UX) design, it's important to acknowledge that the Verifiable Credentials Status List will ultimately be accessed and utilized by a diverse audience. This includes users of assistive technology to navigate and interpret the data. To this end, we strongly recommend that implementations of this specification do more than merely presenting a JSON with a compressed bitstring, it would be highly beneficial to also provide explicit information on how to interpret the data within the status list.