- From: Jason White <jasonw@ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU>
- Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 10:40:33 +1000 (AEST)
- To: WAI Working Group <w3c-wai-wg@w3.org>
On balance, I do not think at this stage that it would be appropriate to add a LONGDESC attribute to IMG. Image maps can already be made partially accessible by means of the ALT attribute which can provide a textual label for each of the sensitive areas on a client-side map. I think we should accept that this is the maximum degree of accessibility which can be achieved by means of the IMG element, and encourage authors to take advantage of the greater flexibility of OBJECT so soon as compatible software is available and widely deployed. It is important to recognise that a LONGDESC attribute is not supported by any existing user agent, and that even if it were incorporated into HTML 4.0, it would not be supported by future user agents until the HTML 4.0 compliant versions were released. I doubt that manufacturers are likely to make available intermediate versions of their software which support LONGDESC but are in other respects not HTML 4.0 compliant. Rather, they will release and widely publicise the HTML 4.0 compatible versions of their applications, which will support OBJECT in any case. Hence LONGDESC is superfluous and unnecessary. I also concur with Al's point that it would be best to concentrate the WAI's educational effort on promotion of the long term solution, rather than encouraging authors to adopt an interim approach which has already been rendered obsolete in principle.
Received on Thursday, 11 September 1997 20:40:39 UTC