Re: HTML Action Item 54 - ...draft text for HTML 5 spec to require producers/authors to include @alt on img elements.

jon,

you wrote:
"Then you're using the same markup for two different semantics:"

not me jon, as I said, this is what the HTML5 spec says.

> In which case, the author's tool, in an attempt to produce conformant
> HTML

how many tools actually output conformant code?

regards
stevef

2008/5/21 Jon Barnett <jonbarnett@gmail.com>:
> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 4:19 AM, Steven Faulkner
> <faulkner.steve@gmail.com> wrote:
>> i suggest you read the spec, as alt="" does not only mean it  is
>> "purely decorative" it can also mean that the text alternative is
>> supplied in the surrounding text.
>
> Then you're using the same markup for two different semantics: one
> case where that markup means the presence of an image is irrelevant
> and the image should be ignored for the document to make sense, and
> another case where the presence of the image is important and must be
> announced by the UA for the document to make sense.
>
>
>>
>> One thing to note is that a legend is not currently required, so would
>> not conform to WCAG 2.0, which requires a text alternative for all
>> images.
>
> It's been shown what accessibility arise from that, and we're
> discussing solutions.  But saying that "a text alternative is required
> for all images" for accessibility because an accessibility standard
> says so begs the question.
>
>>
>>> b) An image that is vital to content (such as a gallery image) for
>>> which the user simply did not provide text out of laziness:
>>>
>>> <img src="1100670787_6a7c664aef.jpg" ??? >
>>
>> that is simple, and is covered in the proposal, if the author has not
>> provided a text alternative the author has produced a non conformant
>> html5 document.
>
> In which case, the author's tool, in an attempt to produce conformant
> HTML, will insert alt="" or something even more harmful.  Making
> something a conformance requirement won't force novice authors to
> suddenly start writing good content, but it will encourage authoring
> /tools/ to generate markup for the sake of conformance even if it
> defeats the purpose of the conformance requirement.
>



-- 
with regards

Steve Faulkner
Technical Director - TPG Europe
Director - Web Accessibility Tools Consortium

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