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alt text and captions

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From: Rachel Tanenhaus
Date: Feb 5, 2004 9:34AM

Hello!

I've got a question about graphics, alt text, and captions. Not
captions as in open- or closed-captioning, but captions as in the text
that sometimes occurs under pictures.

If a graphic is being used on a web site, and its caption is essentially
a description of the picture being shown, what should be in the alt
text? Right now, the caption and the alt text are identical, and we're
wondering if that's a usability issue, or if it's just plain redundant
and annoying, or what? How does one handle repetitive text like that?
I suspect that a blank alt attribute (<alt="">) is inappropriate.

Thanks in advance for your help, and please feel free to point me
somewhere if this has already been discussed (but I checked the recent
archives and didn't see it).

-Rachel

Rachel H. Tanenhaus, MPH
Information Specialist
New England ADA & Accessible IT Center
374 Congress Street, Suite 301
Boston, MA 02210
Phone: (617) 695-0085 (v/tty)
or (800) 949-4232 (v/tty) (in New England)
Fax: (617) 482-8099
E-mail: <EMAIL REMOVED>
URL: www.NewEnglandADA.org



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