RE: Expanding longdesc use

How do you propose that David? 

The longdesc is at a public facing URI. Easy to disclose. 

Are you recommending a "D" link? Remember that never used idea? 

Cheers
David MacDonald

CanAdapt Solutions Inc.
  "Enabling the Web"
     Can-Adapt.com


-----Original Message-----
From: David Singer [mailto:singer@apple.com] 
Sent: March-15-12 2:31 PM
To: David MacDonald
Cc: HTML Accessibility Task Force; W3C WAI-XTECH
Subject: Re: Expanding longdesc use


On Mar 15, 2012, at 11:05 , David MacDonald wrote:

> 
> There has been some discussion about describedby as a replacement for
longdesc. However, screen reader user would have to encounter the
description twice (once on the image and once on the page), which by
definition is "long". The long text on the page clutters the page for most
sighted users. (a deterrent for implementation by webmasters)


I think you are bumping up against a tension here that we have never really
resolved.  It lies between

"you haven't really provided for accessibility unless there are features
that are explicitly and exclusively there for accessibility" 

"provisions which are invisible to the non-accessibility user and author
tend to be poorly authored; accessibility as a natural consequence of good
design for everyone is a better goal"

I think a goal of having descriptions, transcripts, alternative text,
alternative media, available and potentially useful to everyone would be
good, myself -- I lean towards the second.


David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.

Received on Thursday, 15 March 2012 18:45:57 UTC