RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: 1.1.1, Text Alternative, Title Attribute OK?

No, I actually agree with you but have found the use of alt text gets
conflated with alt="xyz" and not correctly a text alternative. For clarity I
do not blanket say you need to add an alt text, but that a text alternative
is required.

 

Words matter; as does clarity

 

K

 

From: Mark Magennis <Mark.Magennis@skillsoft.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, 4 March 2026 9:12 pm
To: kevin@access1in5.co.nz; 'Patrick H. Lauke' <redux@splintered.co.uk>;
w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] RE: 1.1.1, Text Alternative, Title Attribute OK?

 

Kevin, I think you're in danger of getting caught up in words that mean one
thing to you and a different thing to someone else.

 

You said an svg can't have "alt text". Presumably, you meant it can't have
an HTML alt attribute. The term "alt text" has no technical meaning but is
used by many, if not most, people, as a short form of "text alternative".
Under that interpretation, WCAG 1.1.1 does mandate alt text because it says
the non-text content should have a "text alternative". What it doesn't
mandate is an alt attribute.

 

I hope I'm not coming across as unnecessarily picky here. I'm saying this
because I've had a lot of conversations about text alternatives that have
foundered on the rocks of the word "alt".

 

All the best,

Mark

 

  _____  

From: kevin@access1in5.co.nz <mailto:kevin@access1in5.co.nz>
<kevin@access1in5.co.nz <mailto:kevin@access1in5.co.nz> >
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2026 05:07
To: 'Patrick H. Lauke' <redux@splintered.co.uk
<mailto:redux@splintered.co.uk> >; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
<mailto:w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>  <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org <mailto:w3c-wai-ig@w3.org> >
Subject: [EXTERNAL] RE: 1.1.1, Text Alternative, Title Attribute OK? 

 

I'm thinking more about svg which I'm seeing more often. Obviously it could
be given a role="img" but still can't have alt text - it gets a text
equivalent using other means (title or aria). So 1.1.1 doesn't mandate alt
text - it mandates equivalent text.
The aria spec certainly strongly suggest adding the role and a label or
labelledby but there are other valid options.

-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick H. Lauke <redux@splintered.co.uk
<mailto:redux@splintered.co.uk> >
Sent: Wednesday, 4 March 2026 12:45 pm
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org <mailto:w3c-wai-ig@w3.org> 
Subject: Re: 1.1.1, Text Alternative, Title Attribute OK?

On 03/03/2026 21:31, kevin@access1in5.co.nz <mailto:kevin@access1in5.co.nz>
wrote:
> I've also noted that there has been a greater use of images which are not
<img> so alt text is not allowed for them. Title is an acceptable way to
label such graphics.

Depending on the exact code you're talking about ... that's not quite
accurate I think. If it's just an arbitrary <span> or similar, just sticking
a title attribute on it won't expose that as an accessible name for the
<span>, unless I'm misremembering. Ditto for adding something like
aria-label to an arbitrary element that is not normally labellable.

P
--
Patrick H. Lauke

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