Another view of alt optionality

As if one was needed ... 8-O

I just added this to the Wiki page on "alt"[1];

The primary purpose of a markup language specification like HTML is
that it be able to be used to construct a document with a specific
meaning as determined by a publisher, and to permit a consumer to
reconstruct that meaning when in receipt of the document.  Whether a
given document uses alt text or not matters not to that purpose.  The
optionality of alt is therefore not the concern of the specification.
Instead, it seems to be in domain of guidelines, best practices, and
perhaps law.

 [1] http://esw.w3.org/topic/HTML/IssueAltAttribute

Mark.
-- 
Mark Baker. Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA. http://www.markbaker.ca
Coactus; Web-inspired integration strategies http://www.coactus.com