Re: [css3-ui] Zoom cursors

>   In addition to my other css3-ui Last Call comments: I propose to add
> two additional values to the 'cursor' property, zoom-in and zoom-out, in
> order to get rid of alt="Click here to enlarge", alt="Click here to go
> to Back", and similar constructs commonly used on web sites to convey
> navigation information.

I don't see how these new cursor values will avoid these abuses of
alt attributes.  They appear to me to be attempts to produce tooltip
behaviour on Netscape and, as  Netscape 4 is almost certainly going to
implement title before the new cursor values (i.e. never), and laying
aside that title is also not specified as a mechanism for creating tooltip
instructions, people will not stop abusing alt this way because current
and actively maintained browsers support new cursor types; they will
stop using it some time after NS4 ceases to a significant target browser
(quite a long time because people will have learned the techique and it
will still produce the effect they expect on the more modern GUI browsers,
and new designers will copy code from pages written by designers who
learned in the NS4 era).

I don't mind additional cursor types, as long as they are types commonly
implemented natively in GUIs.  Non-native cursors suggest the GUI 
designer felt that they already had as many cursor types as the 
average user could remember (or designer use correctly).  They will also
not be implemented consistently, even in the same GUI environment.

I think you may have a use case, but the use case you have given is not
valid.

Incidentally, to me "Click to enlarge" implies a link to the image as
the only significant content.  Such image links would still require alt
attributes for people with limited bandwidth or poor vision.  However,
I would be surprised if moving to a cursor icon would cause the alt
attribute to be used properly, rather than left out entirely.

Received on Saturday, 7 February 2004 05:17:30 UTC