Re: QUESTION: image map alt tags

Your opinion is one train of thought and it should be so stated . However,
I've heard this discussion a million times over -- I'm not convinced there's
a conclusive answer to the alt=" " question at this point in web evolution.
Many blind people feel it's important to have a complete understanding of
the interface and environment they are working within. Others do not. To
assume otherwise is a big mistake. What might appear to be a nusciane to
you, may be important to someone else. Particularly to a blind person. What
not conduct a usability test to establish the data?

 - Mike





----- Original Message -----
From: Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>
To: Marti <marti47@MEDIAONE.NET>
Cc: Advanced HTML Discussion List <ADV-HTML@BAMA.UA.EDU>; WAI Interest Group
<w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 1999 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: QUESTION: image map alt tags


> Where there is no purpose to the image, having to read the fact that they
are
> there is a real nusciance - particularly for people who are unable to use
> images (people who are blind, etc). If an author has provided correct alt
> text then it is not so difficult to assume that when they have nothing as
> their explicit text it is because they explicitly meant to say nothing.
>
> If you use alt="" to cover up the fact that you haven't bothered to make
> something work without images then you deserve to get flamed.
>
> Putting a long description onto images might also be a good practise to
help
> people believe that you know what you are doing.
>
> Charles McCathieNevile
>
> On Sat, 14 Aug 1999, Marti wrote:
>
>   Just one small point .. using alt="" is something I consider an
annoyance!
>   It gets the page past automated checks like Bobby but leaves the user
>   wondering what they are missing. If you use an alt= please put something
in
>   between the "", even if it only says alt="space".
>   Marti
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>
>   To: Advanced HTML Discussion List <ADV-HTML@BAMA.UA.EDU>
>   Cc: WAI Interest Group <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
>   Sent: Saturday, August 14, 1999 3:34 PM
>   Subject: Re: QUESTION: image map alt tags
>
>
>   > Sallow,
>   >
>   > you're not using what is usually called an imagemap, you are using a
table
>   of
>   > individual images which may be links. In many cases there is no alt
text,
>   > which is a pain.
>   >
>   > A number of browsers which should have known better have patchy
support
>   for
>   > alt on real imagemaps. Your problem (apart from having lots of images
with
>   no
>   > alt at all) is probably related to the way alt is rendered by some of
>   those
>   > browsers - typically it is only somtimes put into the space where an
image
>   > would be, depending on the amount of space it has allocated. Other
>   browsers
>   > don't have any trouble. I'm afraid there is not a lot you can do in
your
>   code
>   > except to leave sizes unspecified for your images - they should appear
>   > unspaced, and you can use basic CSS features such as line-height,
together
>   > with presentational hacking such as VSPACE="0" HSPACE="0" to achieve
the
>   same
>   > effect without a table, and to have more browsers render the alt text.
>   >
>   > (I suggest alt="" for the cases where you don't want "imagemap_r3_c1"
to
>   be
>   > rendered everywhere...)
>   >
>   > Charles McCN
>   >
>   > On Sat, 14 Aug 1999, David Poehlman wrote:
>   >
>   >
>   >   Date:    Fri, 13 Aug 1999 13:00:26 -0500
>   >   From:    Sallow <sallow@twcny.rr.com>
>   >   Subject: QUESTION: image map ALT tagsthis again comes from advhtml
but
>   >   since it concerns us here I thought I'd post it for the gentleman.
>   >
>   >
>   >   hey there-
>   >
>   >            I am having problems getting the ALT text to appear on my
>   >   image
>   >   maps.  The image map works as it is suppossed to (all links are good
>   >   and
>   >   functional) but the alt text will not appear.  I have always had
this
>   >   problem and have simply assumed it is not possible.
>   >
>   >            I am an intermediate user, meaning i can write almost
>   >   anything
>   >   you could want in HTML but my scripting skills are only now being
>   >   learned.  The server I am running the page on is Apache (unix).  I
>   >   work
>   >   from a windows 95 OS or linux redhat (pico editor) depending on
where
>   >   I
>   >   happen to be when I sit dow to write.
>   >
>   >            the URL to my home page is:
>   >
>   >   http://www.io.com/~god
>   >            the URL to the specific imagemap in question is:
>   >
>   >
>   >   http://www.io.com/~god/warhammer/warhammer.htm
>   >
>   >   any advise anyone could render would be greatly appreciated, thanks
>   >
>   >   Sallow
>   >   (Dave Brooks)
>   >
>   >
>   > --Charles McCathieNevile            mailto:charles@w3.org
>   > phone: +1 617 258 0992   http://www.w3.org/People/Charles
>   > W3C Web Accessibility Initiative    http://www.w3.org/WAI
>   > MIT/LCS  -  545 Technology sq., Cambridge MA, 02139,  USA
>   >
>   >
>
>
> --Charles McCathieNevile            mailto:charles@w3.org
> phone: +1 617 258 0992   http://www.w3.org/People/Charles
> W3C Web Accessibility Initiative    http://www.w3.org/WAI
> MIT/LCS  -  545 Technology sq., Cambridge MA, 02139,  USA
>

Received on Sunday, 15 August 1999 00:17:43 UTC