Text presentation of image maps with <object> (detailed review of Semantics)

(This is part of my detailed review of the Semantics and structure of HTML  
elements section.)

The spec says about image maps:

    If the user agent intends to show the text that the img or input
    element represents, then it must use the following steps.

    Note: In user agents that do not support images, or that have images
    disabled, object elements cannot represent images, and thus this
    section never applies (the fallback content is shown instead). The
    following steps therefore only apply to img and input elements.

I think it should apply when an <object> doesn't represent an image  
(perhaps regardless of what else it represents instead). Otherwise using  
image maps together with <object> is inherently inaccessible when images  
are disabled (unless the author jumps through hoops to duplicate the links  
as both <area> and <a> inside the object, which I don't think is realistic  
or particularly elegant).

-- 
Simon Pieters
Opera Software

Received on Wednesday, 8 August 2007 13:59:08 UTC