image links and (text)boxes

the outlines of image links are helpful for identification,

BBC Education Scotland recently put up some new links, (I had been in 
correspondence) which we now can use....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/whatwherewhenwhy/

Can we make a guideline that image links* should ideally have 
transparent backgrounds, and non-rectangular** outlines?    (W3C please 
note)
and failing on transparency have backgrounds that are easily changed?

thanks

jonathan


*presumably most sites are happy to be linked to, so why is it that so 
few images used as links are appropriate for sharing?

**wondering what others feel about the rather heavy handed cartesian, 
or western imperialist insistence on boxes?

has anyone seen a small (~30x3) text box that expands as you write?
this should also be a standard by now, at least as an option...
like this but much better :-)

  if (myText == "feedback"){
		var myLength=parseInt(document.myPost.feedback.cols)
		var myHeight=parseInt(document.myPost.feedback.rows)
		if (key==13) {                                             //newline
			document.myPost.feedback.rows=myHeight + 1
		}

		if (myLength != 90){                                  //~page width
			document.myPost.feedback.cols=myLength + 1
		}