Another HTML5 alt conformance question for clarification

Hi Ian,

Steve wrote [1]:

> it would be
> very useful to get a ruling from the editor on how he intends the spec
> to be interpreted in such 'real world' cases.

I have a question for editor clarification too. The current language
in the editor's draft [2]  does not explicitly state that alt is
required. For authoring requirements it states:

"The src attribute must be present...The requirements for the alt
attribute depend on what the image is intended to represent..."

It does not state:
"The alt attribute must be present..."

In the editor's draft is the alt attribute required to be conforming?
Must it be present?

Thanks.

Best Regards,
Laura

[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2008Aug/0350.html
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/embedded0.html#the-img

--
Laura Carlson