RE: Is an empty alt attribute ok when...

> David Balch

> I'm writing a short guide describing the information that 
> should accompany
> images in content my group produces: title, caption, attribution,
> alternative equivilant.
[...]
> http://tall.conted.ox.ac.uk/testarea/david/image/ImageExamples.html

A few thoughts off the top of my head (which may not necessarily be "right",
and will probably depend a lot more on the context of the entire page these
images are in):

- the Mona Lisa: your proposed ALT looks far more like a LONGDESC to me;
I'd stick with a simple "Photograph of the Mona Lisa" or similar.

- World population increase: I would add "Diagram: " in front of your current
ALT (and possibly a LONGDESC linking to a proper HTML table containing the
actual data, plus trends etc as summary)

- Covalent bonding: empty alt seems fine (although that usually implies some
purely visual "fluff" images - so maybe an ALT of "diagram of an H20 molecule")

- Noodles: your ALT is definitely more of a LONGDESC, and may not even be
necessary; I'd argue that this is a case where the image *is* in fact purely
used for decorative purposes.

IMHO, of course...

Patrick
________________________________
Patrick H. Lauke
Webmaster / University of Salford
http://www.salford.ac.uk

Received on Friday, 13 May 2005 12:39:55 UTC