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Re: ALT tag vs. LONGDESC

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From: Terry Brainerd Chadwick
Date: Mar 7, 2002 1:36PM

Kevin wrote:
>The W3C guidelines don't make it clear to me when exactly to use an ALT
>tag only or when to use the LONGDESC tag. It seems like there should be
>a number of character limit for an ALT tag. Is there any rules that
>people are using to determine whether LONGDESC should be used? It appears
>to me that even when you use LONGDESC, an ALT tag should also be
>associated to that graphic. (Especially because only the very latest
>browsers support the LONGDESC tag)
>thanks,

Bobby, in its Section 508 version, has been warning people to not use the
ALT attribute for anything over 150 characters.
"ALT text >150 characters, consider providing a separate description."

This is just a guideline however. On the sites where I've been given this
warning, the text in the alt attribute have conveyed the exact text that
was in the image so I didn't see any reason for a longer description. (I
did recommend that my clients drop the image in favor of real text.)

Terry

Terry Brainerd Chadwick, InfoQuest! Information Services
mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> 1-503-228-4023 http://www.tbchad.com
Providing Internet Audits and Optimization to Improve Performance
Accessibility, Analytics, Content, Promotion, Search, Usability


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