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Re: ABBR vs. just spelling it out.

for

From: Kynn Bartlett
Date: Mar 22, 2006 12:50PM

On 3/22/06, Christian Heilmann < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> Poor example. A word like "selfindulgence" or "flamebait" does make
> sense, even if I don't necessarily understand it, however an acronym
> like IA could be "Interaction Architect", "Information Architecture"
> or "International Alcoholism" depending on the context it is used in.


But we're presuming that it /is/ used in context here, however.

Aren't we?

If the use of "IA" is going to be unclear in a given context, that's an
English [*] writing problem. Throwing in tags which won't provide
information in some cases -- and provide too much information in other
situations -- doesn't actually solve the real problem: poor writing.

Requiring accessibility considerations for all abbreviations at all times
flies in the face of common sense and actually could, if people get lazy,
lead to worse writing instead of better.

Which populations with disabilities are served by tagging every abbreviation
with <abbr>?

--Kynn

[*] Substitute whatever the appropriate document language is for "English."


PS: How would you mark up the following text with <abbr>? Specifically the
"IA?"

> however an acronym
> like IA could be "Interaction Architect", "Information Architecture"
> or "International Alcoholism" depending on the context it is used in.