- From: Chris Ridpath <chris.ridpath@utoronto.ca>
- Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 09:16:45 -0500
- To: "Charles McCathie Nevile" <charlesn@srl.rmit.EDU.AU>
- Cc: "Charles (Chuck) Oppermann" <chuckop@microsoft.com>, <w3c-wai-au@w3.org>
I was trying to create a method where screen readers could discern the purpose of an image. if "these images are completely irrelevant to non-visual media, and should be ignored completely" then the screen reader should be confident that that is the case. Some HTML editors set the Alt text to null (ALT="") and let the user fill it in later. If a screen reader came across an image with null Alt text then they would have to assume that the image was not a 'spacer' and would have to say "image". If the image had Alt text of spaces (ALT=" ") then the screen reader could assume that the author intended the image to be a 'spacer' and could ignore it or pause the speech output. Chris P.S. This reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. It's a discussion about nothing <grin> -----Original Message----- From: Charles McCathie Nevile <charlesn@srl.rmit.EDU.AU> To: Chris Ridpath <chris.ridpath@utoronto.ca> Cc: Charles (Chuck) Oppermann <chuckop@microsoft.com>; w3c-wai-au@w3.org <w3c-wai-au@w3.org> Date: November 25, 1998 7:41 AM Subject: Re: Null Alt Text >Not quite. The use of spacer images is primarily a kluge to support >visual layout. In some cases these images are completely irrelevant to >non-visual media, and should be ignored completely, by providing null ALT >values (ALT=""). This also applies to some 'eye candy', or images used to >fill in space, although one could provide ALT="dum de dum de dum" just to >make it as annoying to non-visual users as to visual users waiting to >download it. > >All images should indeed have ALT text. However, a null value is not >intrinsically unacceptable as ALT text. > >Charles McCathieNevile > >On Tue, 24 Nov 1998, Chris Ridpath wrote: >> All images should have Alt text. Images that have Alt text set to Null >> (Alt="") would be incorrect. >> >> The WAI guidelines are at: >> http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wai-gl-techniques-19980918.html#spacer-images >> but they do not seem to seem to clarify this matter. >> >> Make sense? >> >> Chris >
Received on Wednesday, 25 November 1998 10:18:09 UTC