Candidate TF Resolution:ISSUE-66 image-analysis

The HTML-A11Y Task Force Face to Face offers the following candidate
resolution for adoption by the TF. Discussion in email is
welcome--simply reply to this message. This resolution will appear on
our teleconference agenda this Thursday. Also, a WBS survey will shortly
be announced where you may vote on it.

RESOLUTION: The HTML-A11Y Task Force supports the change proposal to
remove the image heuristics paragraph from the img Element Section of
the HTML specification as detailed at:
http://www.w3.org/html/wg/wiki/ChangeProposals/ImageHeuristics.

RATIONALE: Key points raised at the F2F included:

Image heuristics text should be stricken from the HTML spec, because it
gives the message that this is viable now, and a reasonable substitute
for @alt. Neither is true.

Should image heuristics become useful in the future then we might
support it but not at present.

Not putting it in the spec will not cause anyone not to do it if they
were going to do it ... Filling in the attribute is not something the
spec should be doing.

We would not normally take time to object that this exists even though
it goes beyond what a spec needs to provide, but we are concerned that
it could mislead authors into believing they can rely on this when the
current state of technology does not support that.

Also consult minutes from the F2F:
http://www.w3.org/2010/04/06-html-a11y-minutes.html
http://www.w3.org/2010/04/07-html-a11y-minutes.html


-- 

Janina Sajka,	Phone:	+1.443.300.2200
		sip:janina@asterisk.rednote.net

Chair, Open Accessibility	janina@a11y.org	
Linux Foundation		http://a11y.org

Chair, Protocols & Formats
Web Accessibility Initiative	http://www.w3.org/wai/pf
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Received on Tuesday, 13 April 2010 17:01:16 UTC