Re: D-link and LONGDESC (GL type stuff)

At first when I saw it, I thought perhaps a good idea but then did a
doubletake.  what would alt="d" mean to me.  no, alt should take me
someplace or tell me something usefull. a description page is good and is
actually used in some instances already.
wgbh for instance.

 On Tue, 21 Apr 1998, Suzan Dolloff
wrote:

> Thanks, Charles. You thoroughly answered my original question. I have some
> thoughts now about your following comments (and since you put them in this
> list, I'm following suit):
> 
> CM::
> >The neatest way of including a D-link, which I saw at WWW7 presented by 
> >some ATRC folks from Toronto, was an image of the same height as the one 
> >being described, of minimal width ( 1 pixel for example ) with ALT="D-link".
> 
> >Where images are not spaced (this can be specified) it would provide 
> >clean pages for design-oriented authors who are loath to leave little 
> >"D"s all over their pages, and a neat linking system that could be 
> >understood by all browsers and folks.
> 
> SD::
> The solution you mention above certainly addresses the aesthetics of having
> little Ds all over the place, but it reminds me of other discussions here
> about spacer GIFs being used as layout workarounds, and the general
> consensus, as I understood it, that this was a "bad thing." 
> 
> To me, it seems encountering "D-Link" in the same list as "Home" or "About
> Our Company" or "My Favorite Music" would soon become as universally
> understood by the people who need it as "Home" is to anyone who wants to
> return to the opening page of a web site. For those who take issue with the
> extra work involved in including a D-link page for EACH page of a site, I
> suggest the descriptive page itself could, in most cases, be one single
> page in outline format (like a sitemap) containing descriptions of all
> features not readily accessible to disabled users, its use further
> annotated by inclusion of its mention in the ALT tag, i.e., ALT="XYZ
> Corporation, D Link Home: #1" or something along those lines.
> 
> Example of a description page (the D-link) as I'm envisioning it:
> 
> "Descriptions for D-Links Contained Within XYZ Corporation"
> 
> Home Page:
> 1. Title Graphic: The letters X, Y and Z intertwined with one another
> (blah, blah, blah)
> 2. Links Graphics: rectangular button shapes with raised text. This graphic
> used throughout the site.
> 3. Photo of Corporate Office: (etcetera...)
> 
> Financial Page:
> 1. Line chart representing increased earnings of 30% in the last fiscal
> quarter.
> 2. Sound file: Three women singing in the style of 1920s recording artists
> to trumpet and  piano accompaniment, "We're In the Money" (followed by the
> lyrics to the song)
> 
> And so on, and so forth.
> 
> As far as I know, browsers will necessarily limit the number of characters
> that render in an ALT attribute, so I imagine this will also be true for
> LONGDESC when it's widely supported. If this is so, how else could song
> lyrics heard in a midi file be made accessible to a deaf person WITHOUT
> resorting to a text-only or D-link page?
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Ree' Dolloff
> mailto:averil@concentric.net
>  
> 

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Received on Thursday, 23 April 1998 18:41:34 UTC