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Number of posts in this thread: 7 (In chronological order)

From: Khaleel Eksheir
Date: Fri, Apr 12 2019 7:57AM
Subject: Longdesc replacement
No previous message | Next message →

Hello,

I'm writing this email to ask about the use of "longdesc". Based on
W3Schools <https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_longdesc.asp>, "longdesc"
is not supported by HTML 5 and all browsers. I tested "longdesc" using JAWS
with Chrome, Firefox, and IE 11. It did not work with Chrome and Firefox.
It worked with IE 11 but was confusing. What would be the replacement? is
there a solution? Would a link tag <a> work?

Thank you,
Khaleel


Khaleel Eksheir, MSc.ESM | Assistive Technology Specialist
UNC Charlotte | Fretwell 230Q | Office of Disability Services
9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
Phone: (704) 687-0042 | Fax: (704) 687-1395
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = | Free/Busy Calendar
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keksheir%40uncc.edu&ctz=America/New_York>
| http://www.ds.uncc.edu


If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission or a person
responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, any disclosure,
copying, distribution, or other use of any of the information in this
transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission
in error, please notify me immediately by reply e-mail or by telephone at
704-687-0042. Thank you
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------

From: John Foliot
Date: Fri, Apr 12 2019 11:04AM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Khaleel,

So... here's the story, and a proposed path forward.

@longdesc has great utility (and is/was, honestly, a good design and
pattern), however it was never properly implemented or supported by browser
vendors, and as such it was never properly used or deployed by content
creators - a perfect storm of 'yech'.

During the authoring of HTML 5, there were multiple acrimonious
"discussions" which became quite divisive - with, at one point, @longdesc
standing in as proxy for how some of the HTML 5 editors were treating
accessibility issues overall. Standards making at the W3C (as is elsewhere)
can be a messy business, and the fate of @longdesc was such that while it
ultimately was 'accepted' to remain as part of the larger HTML 5 spec,
vendors (and in particular Apple) were very unhappy with that decision,
resulting in a "Formal Objection" being raised at the W3C. In cases like
that, the final arbitrator is actually Tim Berners-Lee, who decided to
let @longdesc remain. Apple in particular however did not like that
response (arrogant folks that they can be sometimes), and so despite the
fact that it *should* be a valid attribute, Apple refuses to support it in
VoiceOver or Safari (which ultimately means it will never work on a Mac /
iOS device).

During those discussion, Apple proposed lots of other "potential" solutions
(none of which, 5 years later, are robustly implemented everywhere, so
thanks for nothing Apple - see: https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/), with
perhaps the exception of Standard link inside figure caption
<https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/figure_link/>, which most designers have
rejected as not suitable due to the visual design impact it imposes. One
other potential solution, to use @details, still does not have universal
support (see: https://caniuse.com/#searchÞtails) although that can
probably be corrected using a polyfill (or will change once Edge adopts the
chromium browser engine). The suggested SVG solutions still do not have
robust support (and the state of accessible SVG seems to have stalled).

So... today the only real solution that I can see to provide a longer
description of a complex graphic is to hack around the pattern
that @details was supposed to deliver natively in the browser (until such
time as it does). I'll also note that the "example
<https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/details/>" provided by James Craig
(@cookiecrook) isn't really providing a longer textual description, but
rather just a slightly more verbose @alt text, and I'll further suggest
that they way he's provided the example would never work for a truly
complex graphic such as this:
https://therenegadepharmacist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/coke1hr3.jpg

Essentially however, I'd propose to create a "drawer" (i.e. an expanding or
contracting div directly below the image) that would load by default
collapsed, and in that div provide the longer textual description. The down
side of this technique however is that it still has a visual imposition on
the display, which some claim is a "benefit" (but don't have to deal with
picky graphic designers who might disagree). I've also seen examples where
verbose longer descriptions have been referenced by aria-describedby, but
the user-experience there for non-sighted users is sub-optimal, because
screen readers 'force' that (longer) description on the user (whereas
the @longdesc attribute suggested that a longer description was available,
but the user had to explicitly request it) - so I'd be careful about using
aria-describedby here.

Other possible solutions is to re-use the javascript solution my buddy Dirk
Ginader wrote for me (
http://blog.ginader.de/dev/jquery/longdesc/examples/webaim/index.php), or
(if you are using WordPress) implement Joe Dolson's accessibility plugin
(see: https://www.joedolson.com/2014/03/update-wp-accessibility-longdesc/),
which riffs off of Dirk's example. Both of those solutions
polyfill @longdesc

Hope this helps.

JF

On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 10:59 AM Khaleel Eksheir < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm writing this email to ask about the use of "longdesc". Based on
> W3Schools <https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_longdesc.asp>,
> "longdesc"
> is not supported by HTML 5 and all browsers. I tested "longdesc" using JAWS
> with Chrome, Firefox, and IE 11. It did not work with Chrome and Firefox.
> It worked with IE 11 but was confusing. What would be the replacement? is
> there a solution? Would a link tag <a> work?
>
> Thank you,
> Khaleel
>
>
> Khaleel Eksheir, MSc.ESM | Assistive Technology Specialist
> UNC Charlotte | Fretwell 230Q | Office of Disability Services
> 9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
> Phone: (704) 687-0042 | Fax: (704) 687-1395
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = | Free/Busy Calendar
> <
> https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keksheir%40uncc.edu&ctz=America/New_York
> >
> | http://www.ds.uncc.edu
>
>
> If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission or a person
> responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, any disclosure,
> copying, distribution, or other use of any of the information in this
> transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission
> in error, please notify me immediately by reply e-mail or by telephone at
> 704-687-0042. Thank you
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------
> > > > >


--
*​John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC Representative
Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
deque.com

From: Mallory
Date: Sat, Apr 13 2019 3:13AM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | Next message →

I've just been adding links to visible content sitting elsewhere. The places I would have used a longdesc are charts and graphs and things anyway. People other than blind and low-vision can appreciate a deeper textual description. I tell objecting designers to go back to their avocado toast and frappuccinos and let me get stuff done.

This approach avoids pretty much all the longdesc/aria-foobar/polyfill stuff that I'm just too damn old for now. It's straightforward. It's easy for any non-specialist to determine if it broke during any updates. The domain-expert can check the description for accuracy. An automated tool can check for link-rot. It'll work on the oldest, crappiest user agent. Apple can't block it. The sun will rise again tomorrow.

_mallory

On Fri, Apr 12, 2019, at 7:05 PM, John Foliot wrote:
> Hi Khaleel,
>
> So... here's the story, and a proposed path forward.
>
> @longdesc has great utility (and is/was, honestly, a good design and
> pattern), however it was never properly implemented or supported by browser
> vendors, and as such it was never properly used or deployed by content
> creators - a perfect storm of 'yech'.
>
> During the authoring of HTML 5, there were multiple acrimonious
> "discussions" which became quite divisive - with, at one point, @longdesc
> standing in as proxy for how some of the HTML 5 editors were treating
> accessibility issues overall. Standards making at the W3C (as is elsewhere)
> can be a messy business, and the fate of @longdesc was such that while it
> ultimately was 'accepted' to remain as part of the larger HTML 5 spec,
> vendors (and in particular Apple) were very unhappy with that decision,
> resulting in a "Formal Objection" being raised at the W3C. In cases like
> that, the final arbitrator is actually Tim Berners-Lee, who decided to
> let @longdesc remain. Apple in particular however did not like that
> response (arrogant folks that they can be sometimes), and so despite the
> fact that it *should* be a valid attribute, Apple refuses to support it in
> VoiceOver or Safari (which ultimately means it will never work on a Mac /
> iOS device).
>
> During those discussion, Apple proposed lots of other "potential" solutions
> (none of which, 5 years later, are robustly implemented everywhere, so
> thanks for nothing Apple - see: https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/), with
> perhaps the exception of Standard link inside figure caption
> <https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/figure_link/>, which most designers have
> rejected as not suitable due to the visual design impact it imposes. One
> other potential solution, to use @details, still does not have universal
> support (see: https://caniuse.com/#searchÞtails) although that can
> probably be corrected using a polyfill (or will change once Edge adopts the
> chromium browser engine). The suggested SVG solutions still do not have
> robust support (and the state of accessible SVG seems to have stalled).
>
> So... today the only real solution that I can see to provide a longer
> description of a complex graphic is to hack around the pattern
> that @details was supposed to deliver natively in the browser (until such
> time as it does). I'll also note that the "example
> <https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/details/>" provided by James Craig
> (@cookiecrook) isn't really providing a longer textual description, but
> rather just a slightly more verbose @alt text, and I'll further suggest
> that they way he's provided the example would never work for a truly
> complex graphic such as this:
> https://therenegadepharmacist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/coke1hr3.jpg
>
> Essentially however, I'd propose to create a "drawer" (i.e. an expanding or
> contracting div directly below the image) that would load by default
> collapsed, and in that div provide the longer textual description. The down
> side of this technique however is that it still has a visual imposition on
> the display, which some claim is a "benefit" (but don't have to deal with
> picky graphic designers who might disagree). I've also seen examples where
> verbose longer descriptions have been referenced by aria-describedby, but
> the user-experience there for non-sighted users is sub-optimal, because
> screen readers 'force' that (longer) description on the user (whereas
> the @longdesc attribute suggested that a longer description was available,
> but the user had to explicitly request it) - so I'd be careful about using
> aria-describedby here.
>
> Other possible solutions is to re-use the javascript solution my buddy Dirk
> Ginader wrote for me (
> http://blog.ginader.de/dev/jquery/longdesc/examples/webaim/index.php), or
> (if you are using WordPress) implement Joe Dolson's accessibility plugin
> (see: https://www.joedolson.com/2014/03/update-wp-accessibility-longdesc/),
> which riffs off of Dirk's example. Both of those solutions
> polyfill @longdesc
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> JF
>
> On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 10:59 AM Khaleel Eksheir < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > I'm writing this email to ask about the use of "longdesc". Based on
> > W3Schools <https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_longdesc.asp>,
> > "longdesc"
> > is not supported by HTML 5 and all browsers. I tested "longdesc" using JAWS
> > with Chrome, Firefox, and IE 11. It did not work with Chrome and Firefox.
> > It worked with IE 11 but was confusing. What would be the replacement? is
> > there a solution? Would a link tag <a> work?
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Khaleel
> >
> >
> > Khaleel Eksheir, MSc.ESM | Assistive Technology Specialist
> > UNC Charlotte | Fretwell 230Q | Office of Disability Services
> > 9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
> > Phone: (704) 687-0042 | Fax: (704) 687-1395
> > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = | Free/Busy Calendar
> > <
> > https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keksheir%40uncc.edu&ctz=America/New_York
> > >
> > | http://www.ds.uncc.edu
> >
> >
> > If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission or a person
> > responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, any disclosure,
> > copying, distribution, or other use of any of the information in this
> > transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission
> > in error, please notify me immediately by reply e-mail or by telephone at
> > 704-687-0042. Thank you
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------
> > --------------------------------
> > > > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
> *​John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC Representative
> Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
> deque.com
> > > > >

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sat, Apr 13 2019 8:55AM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | Next message →

Then there's the story of aria-details, the supposed longdesc
replacement. The idea was good, but there is no supporting
implementation that I'm aware of.
See the excellent article "Getting the details on aria-details":
https://www.scottohara.me/blog/2018/11/08/aria-details.html
I grumbled about the lack of implementation for aria-details (and
other ARIA 1.1 attributes) in my Accessibility 24 article:
https://www.24a11y.com/2018/aria-1-1-whats-new/

Funny thing, I created a Code Pen example and filed issues on the Jaws
and NVDA GitHub pages. I cannot find the Jaws issue on their GitHub
repository any more, and I have not seen this issue fixed. I got to
dig up the direct links and post them back to this thread if the
issues are still valid, or create new issues if they were removed.
I also wonder why they were removed if they have not been fixed.

On 4/13/19, Mallory < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> I've just been adding links to visible content sitting elsewhere. The places
> I would have used a longdesc are charts and graphs and things anyway. People
> other than blind and low-vision can appreciate a deeper textual description.
> I tell objecting designers to go back to their avocado toast and
> frappuccinos and let me get stuff done.
>
> This approach avoids pretty much all the longdesc/aria-foobar/polyfill stuff
> that I'm just too damn old for now. It's straightforward. It's easy for any
> non-specialist to determine if it broke during any updates. The
> domain-expert can check the description for accuracy. An automated tool can
> check for link-rot. It'll work on the oldest, crappiest user agent. Apple
> can't block it. The sun will rise again tomorrow.
>
> _mallory
>
> On Fri, Apr 12, 2019, at 7:05 PM, John Foliot wrote:
>> Hi Khaleel,
>>
>> So... here's the story, and a proposed path forward.
>>
>> @longdesc has great utility (and is/was, honestly, a good design and
>> pattern), however it was never properly implemented or supported by
>> browser
>> vendors, and as such it was never properly used or deployed by content
>> creators - a perfect storm of 'yech'.
>>
>> During the authoring of HTML 5, there were multiple acrimonious
>> "discussions" which became quite divisive - with, at one point, @longdesc
>> standing in as proxy for how some of the HTML 5 editors were treating
>> accessibility issues overall. Standards making at the W3C (as is
>> elsewhere)
>> can be a messy business, and the fate of @longdesc was such that while it
>> ultimately was 'accepted' to remain as part of the larger HTML 5 spec,
>> vendors (and in particular Apple) were very unhappy with that decision,
>> resulting in a "Formal Objection" being raised at the W3C. In cases like
>> that, the final arbitrator is actually Tim Berners-Lee, who decided to
>> let @longdesc remain. Apple in particular however did not like that
>> response (arrogant folks that they can be sometimes), and so despite the
>> fact that it *should* be a valid attribute, Apple refuses to support it in
>> VoiceOver or Safari (which ultimately means it will never work on a Mac /
>> iOS device).
>>
>> During those discussion, Apple proposed lots of other "potential"
>> solutions
>> (none of which, 5 years later, are robustly implemented everywhere, so
>> thanks for nothing Apple - see: https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/), with
>> perhaps the exception of Standard link inside figure caption
>> <https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/figure_link/>, which most designers have
>> rejected as not suitable due to the visual design impact it imposes. One
>> other potential solution, to use @details, still does not have universal
>> support (see: https://caniuse.com/#searchÞtails) although that can
>> probably be corrected using a polyfill (or will change once Edge adopts
>> the
>> chromium browser engine). The suggested SVG solutions still do not have
>> robust support (and the state of accessible SVG seems to have stalled).
>>
>> So... today the only real solution that I can see to provide a longer
>> description of a complex graphic is to hack around the pattern
>> that @details was supposed to deliver natively in the browser (until such
>> time as it does). I'll also note that the "example
>> <https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/details/>" provided by James Craig
>> (@cookiecrook) isn't really providing a longer textual description, but
>> rather just a slightly more verbose @alt text, and I'll further suggest
>> that they way he's provided the example would never work for a truly
>> complex graphic such as this:
>> https://therenegadepharmacist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/coke1hr3.jpg
>>
>> Essentially however, I'd propose to create a "drawer" (i.e. an expanding
>> or
>> contracting div directly below the image) that would load by default
>> collapsed, and in that div provide the longer textual description. The
>> down
>> side of this technique however is that it still has a visual imposition on
>> the display, which some claim is a "benefit" (but don't have to deal with
>> picky graphic designers who might disagree). I've also seen examples where
>> verbose longer descriptions have been referenced by aria-describedby, but
>> the user-experience there for non-sighted users is sub-optimal, because
>> screen readers 'force' that (longer) description on the user (whereas
>> the @longdesc attribute suggested that a longer description was available,
>> but the user had to explicitly request it) - so I'd be careful about using
>> aria-describedby here.
>>
>> Other possible solutions is to re-use the javascript solution my buddy
>> Dirk
>> Ginader wrote for me (
>> http://blog.ginader.de/dev/jquery/longdesc/examples/webaim/index.php), or
>> (if you are using WordPress) implement Joe Dolson's accessibility plugin
>> (see:
>> https://www.joedolson.com/2014/03/update-wp-accessibility-longdesc/),
>> which riffs off of Dirk's example. Both of those solutions
>> polyfill @longdesc
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>> JF
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 10:59 AM Khaleel Eksheir
>> < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Hello,
>> >
>> > I'm writing this email to ask about the use of "longdesc". Based on
>> > W3Schools <https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_longdesc.asp>,
>> > "longdesc"
>> > is not supported by HTML 5 and all browsers. I tested "longdesc" using
>> > JAWS
>> > with Chrome, Firefox, and IE 11. It did not work with Chrome and
>> > Firefox.
>> > It worked with IE 11 but was confusing. What would be the replacement?
>> > is
>> > there a solution? Would a link tag <a> work?
>> >
>> > Thank you,
>> > Khaleel
>> >
>> >
>> > Khaleel Eksheir, MSc.ESM | Assistive Technology Specialist
>> > UNC Charlotte | Fretwell 230Q | Office of Disability Services
>> > 9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
>> > Phone: (704) 687-0042 | Fax: (704) 687-1395
>> > = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = | Free/Busy Calendar
>> > <
>> > https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keksheir%40uncc.edu&ctz=America/New_York
>> > >
>> > | http://www.ds.uncc.edu
>> >
>> >
>> > If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission or a person
>> > responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, any disclosure,
>> > copying, distribution, or other use of any of the information in this
>> > transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
>> > transmission
>> > in error, please notify me immediately by reply e-mail or by telephone
>> > at
>> > 704-687-0042. Thank you
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > --------------------------------
>> > >> > >> > >> > >> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> *​John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC
>> Representative
>> Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
>> deque.com
>> >> >> >> >>
> > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Jiatyan Chen
Date: Mon, Apr 15 2019 10:56AM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | Next message →

> On 12 Apr 2019, at 10:04, John Foliot < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> Apple refuses to support it in VoiceOver or Safari (which ultimately means it will never work on a Mac / iOS device)

Thanks for the fascinating background, John.

Do you remember the reason why Apple refused to have longdesc be in the standards?

--
Jiatyan Chen

From: John Foliot
Date: Mon, Apr 15 2019 11:24AM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | Next message →

> Do you remember the reason why Apple refused to have longdesc be in the
standards?

Their claim was that it was "bolt-on" accessibility, and as supported in
the past*, was only useful for screen-reader users.

(* Prior support - by screen readers only - was a decision of the browser
vendors. Apple, along with Mozilla/Firefox and Google/Chrome - and others
- were presented with possible solutions that would have extended the
functionality of @longdesc to other user-groups as well, but <opinion>if it
isn't invented by Apple, it's not a viable solution.</opinion> ¯_(ツ)_/¯ )

JF


--
*John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC Representative
Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
deque.com

From: Kolitsky, Michael A PHD
Date: Thu, Apr 18 2019 5:51PM
Subject: Re: Longdesc replacement
← Previous message | No next message

My background and interest is in making 3D prints of complex graphics that can be laid atop an iPad or iPad Pro showing the graphic with audio buttons that match the complex graphics so that by laying the 3D print of a complex graphic on the iPad or iPad surface and then a touch to any graph areas with an iPad or iPad Pro pen now causes audio buttons to give values on the graph, x- y labels and titles. The graphics shown at the site below compare what the graph would look like as a table for a screen reader and also how it could be read in a random way with an iPad or iPad pen. As you can tell, I come from the multimedia side and am not sure if what is shown below helps or hinders the ongoing discussion of "longdesc".


See http://www.nextgenemedia.com/complexImages/assets/fallback/index.html for more detail.


Mike


Michael Kolitsky, Ph.D.
Online Adjunct Professor
Biological Sciences
The University of Texas at El Paso
609-399-2431
www.nextgenemedia.com/kolitskycv.html
From: John Foliot < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2019 11:04 AM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Longdesc replacement

Hi Khaleel,

So... here's the story, and a proposed path forward.

@longdesc has great utility (and is/was, honestly, a good design and
pattern), however it was never properly implemented or supported by browser
vendors, and as such it was never properly used or deployed by content
creators - a perfect storm of 'yech'.

During the authoring of HTML 5, there were multiple acrimonious
"discussions" which became quite divisive - with, at one point, @longdesc
standing in as proxy for how some of the HTML 5 editors were treating
accessibility issues overall. Standards making at the W3C (as is elsewhere)
can be a messy business, and the fate of @longdesc was such that while it
ultimately was 'accepted' to remain as part of the larger HTML 5 spec,
vendors (and in particular Apple) were very unhappy with that decision,
resulting in a "Formal Objection" being raised at the W3C. In cases like
that, the final arbitrator is actually Tim Berners-Lee, who decided to
let @longdesc remain. Apple in particular however did not like that
response (arrogant folks that they can be sometimes), and so despite the
fact that it *should* be a valid attribute, Apple refuses to support it in
VoiceOver or Safari (which ultimately means it will never work on a Mac /
iOS device).

During those discussion, Apple proposed lots of other "potential" solutions
(none of which, 5 years later, are robustly implemented everywhere, so
thanks for nothing Apple - see: https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/), with
perhaps the exception of Standard link inside figure caption
<https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/figure_link/>, which most designers have
rejected as not suitable due to the visual design impact it imposes. One
other potential solution, to use @details, still does not have universal
support (see: https://caniuse.com/#search=details) although that can
probably be corrected using a polyfill (or will change once Edge adopts the
chromium browser engine). The suggested SVG solutions still do not have
robust support (and the state of accessible SVG seems to have stalled).

So... today the only real solution that I can see to provide a longer
description of a complex graphic is to hack around the pattern
that @details was supposed to deliver natively in the browser (until such
time as it does). I'll also note that the "example
<https://cookiecrook.com/longdesc/details/>" provided by James Craig
(@cookiecrook) isn't really providing a longer textual description, but
rather just a slightly more verbose @alt text, and I'll further suggest
that they way he's provided the example would never work for a truly
complex graphic such as this:
https://therenegadepharmacist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/coke1hr3.jpg

Essentially however, I'd propose to create a "drawer" (i.e. an expanding or
contracting div directly below the image) that would load by default
collapsed, and in that div provide the longer textual description. The down
side of this technique however is that it still has a visual imposition on
the display, which some claim is a "benefit" (but don't have to deal with
picky graphic designers who might disagree). I've also seen examples where
verbose longer descriptions have been referenced by aria-describedby, but
the user-experience there for non-sighted users is sub-optimal, because
screen readers 'force' that (longer) description on the user (whereas
the @longdesc attribute suggested that a longer description was available,
but the user had to explicitly request it) - so I'd be careful about using
aria-describedby here.

Other possible solutions is to re-use the javascript solution my buddy Dirk
Ginader wrote for me (
http://blog.ginader.de/dev/jquery/longdesc/examples/webaim/index.php), or
(if you are using WordPress) implement Joe Dolson's accessibility plugin
(see: https://www.joedolson.com/2014/03/update-wp-accessibility-longdesc/),
which riffs off of Dirk's example. Both of those solutions
polyfill @longdesc

Hope this helps.

JF

On Fri, Apr 12, 2019 at 10:59 AM Khaleel Eksheir < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm writing this email to ask about the use of "longdesc". Based on
> W3Schools <https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_longdesc.asp>,
> "longdesc"
> is not supported by HTML 5 and all browsers. I tested "longdesc" using JAWS
> with Chrome, Firefox, and IE 11. It did not work with Chrome and Firefox.
> It worked with IE 11 but was confusing. What would be the replacement? is
> there a solution? Would a link tag <a> work?
>
> Thank you,
> Khaleel
>
>
> Khaleel Eksheir, MSc.ESM | Assistive Technology Specialist
> UNC Charlotte | Fretwell 230Q | Office of Disability Services
> 9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
> Phone: (704) 687-0042 | Fax: (704) 687-1395
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = | Free/Busy Calendar
> <
> https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=keksheir%40uncc.edu&ctz=America/New_York
> >
> | http://www.ds.uncc.edu
>
>
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> > > > >


--
*?John Foliot* | Principal Accessibility Strategist | W3C AC Representative
Deque Systems - Accessibility for Good
deque.com