- From: Leif Halvard Silli <xn--mlform-iua@xn--mlform-iua.no>
- Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:22:25 +0200
- To: Charles McCathie Nevile <chaals@yandex-team.ru>
- Cc: Laura Carlson <laura.lee.carlson@gmail.com>, Silvia Pfeiffer <silviapfeiffer1@gmail.com>, Geoff Freed <geoff_freed@wgbh.org>, HTML Accessibility Task Force <public-html-a11y@w3.org>
Charles McCathie Nevile, Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:58:55 +0200:
> On Sun, 23 Sep 2012 02:41:56 +0200, Silvia Pfeiffer wrote:
>> the vast pollution of @longdesc values […] would be replaced by
>> only clean and accurate use of @aria-describedat
> factors that […] will lead to aria-describedat having […] pollution:
...
> 3. Longdesc isn't terribly complicated. The original description of
> longdesc for img begins:
> "This attribute specifies a link to a long description of the image.
> This description should supplement the short description provided
> using the alt attribute..."
> While it isn't a perfectly clear specification, I found it difficult
> to understand how reading it could lead to any major confusion.
I believe most of the the misused @longdesc attributes points to an
image. And that authors’ need for an extra image URL attribute,
'creative', self-forgiving 'read-my-wish-into-the-standard' in
combination the fact that HTML4/XHTML1 is DTD-based and their
validation is DTD-based too (per the DTD, any URL is valid!) - in
combination with lack of browsers where @longdesc is implemented in a
way that ordinary authors can experience, is largely what has lead us
to where we are.[1] The following quote from someone who is fully aware
of HTML5, demonstrates how the reasoning goes: [2]
]]
jQuery Fullsize Plug-in [ … ] Since there is no fullsize attribute
for the <IMG> tag yet, I am using the longdesc attribute instead.
longdesc is a completely valid image attribute and is meant to contain
a URL to a description of the image. The Fullsize jQuery plug-in is
super easy to use, and provides a kick start to standardizing the way
image pop-ups look and work.
[[
If @aria-describedAT does not suffer the same, severe destiny, then it
will be because:
* HTML5 is more extensible than XHTML1/HTML4 (read: @data-foo="")
so the need is not as great.
* the move away from DTD-based spec and DTD-based validation makes
it more difficult and less credible to fake
* may be it becomes simpler to test A11Y?
If HTML5 gained the @fullsize attribute, as well, then that would help,
too. Alas.[3]
[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-a11y/2012Sep/0423
[2] http://www.addfullsize.com
[3] https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=12365#c11
--
leif halvard silli
Received on Monday, 24 September 2012 12:23:03 UTC