Re: Alt is not a description (was Re: when to use longdesc for images)

By all users, we are going beyond the realm of user agents, but there are 
combinations where links may not be discernable.  I'm not saying that 
putting the word link in the link text is necessary but I do caution against 
allowing the information to be rendered without some sort of indication 
coded into it such as for instance using a | which would at least let people 
know that there is a link.  You can put it in the link text or use it as a 
link separator.  Of course, if there is only one link on the page, I guess 
you'd have to put it in the link.  One of the reasons I like things marked 
up as lists is that they are automatically rendered with specific textual 
information in at least some cases.  I am sad to see that the more modern 
browsers have dropped this practice.

Johnnie Apple Seed

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Dorward" <david@dorward.me.uk>
To: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: Alt is not a description (was Re: when to use longdesc for 
images)



On Tue, Dec 21, 2004 at 02:08:29PM +0100, Jos? Luis Vel?zquez wrote:
> [David Dorward]:
> > Certainly I think that the second example should be changed, browsers
> > already announce links when they hit &lt;a&gt; elements with href
> > attributes, stating that the link is a link is redundant and wasteful.

> Yes, browsers know that it's a link, but what about (all) users??

Can you name any interactive user agents which do not indicate to
users that a link is a link?

If so, is this a special case for images? If not then should we
include the word "link" in every single link on our pages?

> Also checkpoint 14.1 would be applicable here: Use the clearest and 
> simplest
> language appropriate for a site's content.

Can providing the same information multiple times be considered "clear
and simple"? It strikes me as being needlessly verbose (and therefore
making it harder for the user to get to the relevent information).

-- 
David Dorward                                      http://dorward.me.uk

Received on Tuesday, 21 December 2004 16:09:56 UTC