WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: abbreviations

for

From: Duff Johnson
Date: May 28, 2010 8:03AM

On May 28, 2010, at 8:21 AM, Dan Conley wrote:

> >There are some instances where an abbreviation isn't necessary. My
> example of HIV in an article titled Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a
> pretty obvious example.

...and it's not hard to come up with pretty obvious counter-examples too, even within such an article:

"His aids told us everything we needed to know."
"His aides told us everything we needed to know."

> >But I'm very hesitant to say I'm going to
> approach this on a case by case basis, because then I declare myself the
> gatekeeper of what's 'obvious' or not, which won't be the same from
> person to person.

The subject is properly a matter for Standards followed by conforming software implementations. Essentially, the option to identify and use such tags is key.

> >If something is an abbreviation, shouldn't it by definition be given the
> abbreviation markup?

That would be correct best practice. It is up to the consuming software (and the human running the show) to deal with it.

Duff Johnson
Appligent Document Solutions, CEO
US Committee for ISO/CD 14289 (PDF/UA), Chair

22 E. Baltimore Ave
Lansdowne, PA 19050
+1 610 284 4006
+1 617 553 1934 (direct)
<EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.appligent.com
http://www.twitter.com/duffjohnson