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Re: LONGDESC in HTML5?

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From: Vlad Alexander (XStandard)
Date: Sep 25, 2010 4:00PM

John wrote: "There is simple, and then there is simplistic."

John, please provide mainstream and best practice examples where the rule I propose to author alt text fails and hinders comprehension. And let's put the examples right in this thread. Here is the rule I propose. Alternate text is a textual substitute for an image and appropriate alternate text can only be authored by taking into consideration its context (content preceding and following the image).

John wrote: "As such, they [Web pages] should be authored to be what they are, not what they might be re-purposed to be. Suggesting otherwise (I argue) can actually degrade the user experience of non-sighted users."

It's not just about re-purposing content. It's about recognizing that the Web is made up of more than just graphical Web browsers with AT being dependent and sitting on top of these browsers. Large consumers of Web content are applications (machines) that can only view the Web as textual content.

Take care,
-Vlad