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Re: difference in sounce between <strong> and <em>

for

From: Angela French
Date: Oct 6, 2011 1:27PM

<em> conveys visual designation? Really? I would have left that up to <bold> which is presentational/visual.

I am asking about this because I'm working with a small team of developers on a web app used by our employees in our college system, and they are using <b> and <italic> within instructions - neither of which is structural or, I assume, will convey the intended importance to a screen reader user.



. The best way I can explain it is
>that <em> conveys a visual designation, distinction, or emphasis, but does
>not convey importance. The HTML5 spec has some examples that may or may
>not help - http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/Overview.html#the-em-element
>
>Of note is that in HTML4 there are two levels of emphasis - either <em> or
><strong>. In HTML5, you can nest <em> and/or <strong> to convey multiple
>levels of emphasis or importance. While I think this is <strong>really,
><strong>REALLY</strong></strong> odd, you can see that there might be
>some applications for it. Perhaps if you nest enough of them, JAWS might
>lose its voice from screaming at you?
>
>In all cases, <i> and <b> are not for emphasis or importance, but for other (yet
>again convoluted by HTML5) things.
>
>But as has been mentioned, none of this really matters in practice.
>
>Jared
>