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Re: Alt Text

for

From: ckrugman@sbcglobal.net
Date: Feb 25, 2010 2:03PM

If I'm referring to or citing a page as a screen reader I would like to know
the specifics of the content so I am not making a --- of my self if
discussing content.
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Foliot" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: "'WebAIM Discussion List'" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2010 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Alt Text


> What kind of graphic? To me, there's a huge difference between an image
> and a photo in my mind, and a chart versus an icon. Is this distinction
> important?
>
> JF
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: <EMAIL REMOVED> [mailto:webaim-forum-
>> <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Geof Collis
>> Sent: Thursday, February 25, 2010 11:04 AM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Alt Text
>>
>> But JAWS announces it's a graphic anyway, why duplicate it?
>>
>> cheers
>>
>> Geof
>>
>> At 01:55 PM 2/25/2010, you wrote:
>> >Bevi Chagnon | PubCom wrote:
>> > >
>> > > From my research and testing, I've found that a quick identifier in
>> the
>> > > ALT
>> > > text helps a) quickly convey the information to the user, and b)
>> reduces
>> > > the
>> > > number of words I need to use.
>> > > Some examples.
>> > > Photo: sunset in Rocky Mountain forest.
>> > > Logo: U.S. Forest Service.
>> > > Pie chart: Number of blue widgets sold in 2009, by sales quarter.
>> (This
>> > > sample would also get a longdesc attribute to provide the chart's
>> > > details.)
>> >
>> >I would echo agreement with Bevi's 'pattern' here, and have suggested
>> it
>> >in the past as a best practices guideline. Additionally, I 'wrap' the
>> alt
>> >text in [square brackets], for times when images might be disabled for
>> >sighted users, and the image 'interrupts' or skews text flow (or might
>> >seem redundant to some users). For example:
>> >
>> >[Photo: Jared Smith] Jared Smith is the Director of WebAIM...
>> >
>> >As opposed to:
>> >
>> >Jared Smith Jared Smith is the Director of WebAIM...
>> >
>> >Just a suggestion however.
>> >
>> >
>> > > I use a colon to separate the identifier from the text so that it
>> pauses
>> > > the
>> > > screen reader for blind users, and also makes grammatical sense to
>> > > sighted users.
>> >
>> >Yup, some common identifiers I use are: [Photo: ], [Icon: ],
>> [Graphic:
>> >], [Chart: ], etc.
>> >
>> >JF
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >