Audio/Visual stylesheets?

Does anyone besides me think that aural properties
might have a place in non-aural-specific (i.e. screen
based) stylesheets? Most sound in webpages is
stylistic rather than being part of the content.

Of course, they don't make sense for document-tree
elements (how would you determine when to cue-before
on a P in visual media? Position of the page? Better to
let that slide.), but for the root element and user interaction
psuedo-classes, it makes perfect sense.

For example, to add background music to a page:

	:root {play-during: url(bgm.mid)}

Or to play a sound when the user puts the pointer
over a link:

	A:hover {cue-before: url(linksound.au)}

Or maybe a drum roll while the UA finds a page:

	A:active {cue-after: url(drumroll.au)}

The root element (for constant effects) and dynamic
psuedo-classes are the only selectors that make
sense with it.Not all aural properties make sense with
these, either: anything having to do with voice or speech
really only makes sense with a spoken-text UA.

So, the relevant properties are reduced to:cue properties,
play-during, spatial properties, and volume.

Of course, this is open to abuse (but isn't everything), and
it happens to be a type of abuse that is easy to avoid
dealing with: just turn down the volume. Unlike pop-up
windows which are I*N*F*U*R*I*A*T*I*N*G*ly hard to get
rid of.

Comments would be appreciated.

Received on Wednesday, 4 August 1999 15:14:11 UTC