Re: Alt and/or Title

by ErthWlkr(at)aol.com

 Date:  Fri, 5 Jan 2001 08:38:48 EST
 To:  hwg-basics(at)hwg.org
  todo: View Thread, Original
Hi Folks:

Edward wrote:

> I use the "alt" attribute always. I believe accessability standards will
>  tell you that as well. Don't forget your wider audience, some folks have
>  non-graphical browsers or turn the graphics off in newer ones.

The use of the "alt" attribute is part of the W3C Web Accessibility 
Initiative (WAI). The reason for the WAI existence is to make the web 
available to as wide an audience as possible including those with 
disabilities.  The "alt" attribute is important for those with non-graphical 
browsers, visual impairment, poor bandwidth, etc. Consequently, aside from 
the commerical aspect of including a larger audience, its more inclusive when 
it comes to passing information and news to a community.

>From the Techniques section of the Guidelines:

"Authors are encouraged to provide text equivalents for non-text content 
since text may be rendered as synthesized speech for individuals who have 
visual or learning disabilities, as braille for individuals who are blind, or 
as graphical text for individuals who are deaf or do not have a disability."

As Wilford Brimley says, it's the right thing to do!

Although it might be a bit overwhelming, you can do further reading at:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/Resources/#te

And as Dennis Lapcewich said in an earlier post on a different thread, these 
issues will eventually become law in both the public and private sectors.

- Jeff K.

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