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Re: WCAG

for

From: Karl Groves
Date: Mar 2, 2010 11:51AM

>
> > As that's tech specific, it wouldn't be in the guidelines. Look in
> the
> > techniques http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/G94
>
> WCAG 2.0 uses "short text alternative" and "long description"
> extensively in the techniques documents, but as far as I know, they
> never define either term. I'm unfamiliar with an exact character value
> defined or recommended in WCAG 2.0, but I distinctly remember that at
> one point the suggestion was "around 100 characters". This is, of
> course, a rough guideline - certainly some images should have alt
> values that are longer than 100 characters, but I think this is a good
> point at which you should seriously consider either making the alt
> text more shorter or providing a longer description.
>


I think it bears mentioning that the "Techniques" document is informative,
rather than normative. They supply guidance on how to conform to the
guidelines. The techniques may or may not be applicable to your specific
situation and some may eventually reach a state of obsolescence by future
developments in technology and/ or AT.

As Jared pointed out "around 100 characters" is a good rule of thumb.
Whatever approach you decide should you come to your own conclusions should
be predicated of course on AT and user agent support.

Karl