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Thread: Can <span> & <div> be considered Semantic or non-semantic elements

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Number of posts in this thread: 3 (In chronological order)

From: Ravindra Kumar Jain
Date: Wed, Jul 06 2016 12:25AM
Subject: Can <span> & <div> be considered Semantic or non-semantic elements
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Hi folks,
a lot has already been written about <span> & <div> elements. We all
know that on one hand its correct use can solve accessibility problems
& on the other hand it's wrong use can do just the reverse.
Considering the above , Just like a<h1> , <table> & other recently
introduced Html 5 elements , can or should <span> & <div> be
considered as Semantic elements ?

Regards,

Ravindra Kumar Jain
Accessibility Consultant
Cognizant

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Wed, Jul 06 2016 4:21AM
Subject: Re: Can <span> & <div> be considered Semantic or non-semantic elements
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On 06/07/2016 07:25, Ravindra Kumar Jain wrote:
> Hi folks,
> a lot has already been written about <span> & <div> elements. We all
> know that on one hand its correct use can solve accessibility problems
> & on the other hand it's wrong use can do just the reverse.
> Considering the above , Just like a<h1> , <table> & other recently
> introduced Html 5 elements , can or should <span> & <div> be
> considered as Semantic elements ?

Not quite sure where this question is leading to, but...

By definition, <span> and <div> are semantically neutral containers.
Unless they're given explicit role, behavior, etc yes they'll be
problematic.

In the same way "semantic" elements, when used incorrectly, can also be
problematic.

P
--
Patrick H. Lauke

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twitter: @patrick_h_lauke | skype: patrick_h_lauke

From: Chaals McCathie Nevile
Date: Wed, Jul 06 2016 4:32AM
Subject: Re: Can <span> & <div> be considered Semantic or non-semantic elements
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On Wed, 06 Jul 2016 08:25:54 +0200, Ravindra Kumar Jain
< = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Hi folks,
> a lot has already been written about <span> & <div> elements. We all
> know that on one hand its correct use can solve accessibility problems
> & on the other hand it's wrong use can do just the reverse.
> Considering the above , Just like a<h1> , <table> & other recently
> introduced Html 5 elements , can or should <span> & <div> be
> considered as Semantic elements ?

They are not recently introduced, and they should not be considered to
have any particular semantics.

cheers

--
Charles McCathie Nevile - web standards - CTO Office, Yandex
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = - - - Find more at http://yandex.com