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Re: Alt text (was VIKI - text transcodeing)

for

From: Keith Parks
Date: Jan 19, 2007 4:40PM

John,

You make some good points.

One thing I forgot to ask, going back to your original reply, was
about the [square brackets] around ALT text. You said you presumed
that the text transcoder added the brackets for the same reason as
you do. What's that reason?

And to expand on one area of thought...

On Jan 19, 2007, at 2:48 PM, John Foliot - Stanford Online
Accessibility Program wrote:

> It would seem that the first answer is fairly self evident - of
> course they
> are different. But the second question requires context, which I
> suggest is
> at least hinted at by describing what type of graphic we are using:
>
> alt="[Photo: a student using a computer]"
> alt="[Graphic: a student using a computer]"
>
> Subtle, to be sure, but distinct.

One thing I've struggled with (well, at least had second thought
about) is how far to "editorialize" in ALT text, when I started
trying to have the ALT text describe the *purpose* as well as the
appearance of an image.

For instance, since we're both in the edu realm, you've probably
dealt with many of the "faculty together with a student" photos. A
descriptive ALT text could be "Photo: a student talking with a
faculty member." But thinking about *why* the photo is there, what it
is really supposed to do is say "Students enjoy personal interaction
with faculty members." That's the story that the picture is supposed
to tell. Without having to actually *say* it in the copy.

So is it valid to say that in the ALT text? Aside from the question
of precisely how to word it, does that go beyond the "text
equivalent" function?

Same for simple campus architectural shots. Rather than "photo: the
Library building", what I *hope* the photo is saying is more like
"It's another beautiful day in San Diego... the sky is blue, the palm
trees are swaying, and students are enjoying our nice climate." etc.
(pictures being worth 1000 words, and all.)

And how about things like ethnicity? We try hard to have our
publications reflect the diversity of our campus (how's *that* for a
canned phrase? ;^) Yet it would seem awfully weird to have and ALT
tag of "A caucasian female student and a hispanic male student talk
with an asian female instructor." If that's important "content" of
the image, shouldn't it be part of the description?

I haven't gone that far yet, but I've thought about it.

******************************
Keith Parks
Graphic Designer/Web Designer
Student Affairs Communications Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7444

(619) 594-1046

mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED>
http://www.sdsu.edu
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/communications
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