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Posted by Norman L. DeForest on 10/18/09 11:24
On Thu, 18 Aug 2005, William Tasso wrote:
> Writing in news:alt.www.webmaster,alt.html
> From the safety of the Bell Sympatico cafeteria
> GreyWyvern <spam@greywyvern.com> said:
>
> > ...
> > broken images with:
> >
> > +-----+
> > |Image|
> > +-----+
> >
> > ... rather than hiding them against my wishes. If I feel that the image
> > is not worth even this bit of display, I can give it alt="" which allows
> > the browser to assume with confidence that the image is not worth a
> > textual representation of any kind.
>
> One only has to take a look at the code spewed out by Amazon for its
> affiliates - take a look at this page:
> http://www.sea-ex.com/recreational1/aquariumreeffishbooks.htm with and
> without images.
>
> "cover" is worthless alt text serving only to provide an anchor point for
> the affiliate link - which is duplicated immediately in the text.
>
> alt text for the 'stars' is a little better, but would be improved with
> context. The image is clearly identifiable as a synonym for a rating
> system - the text displayed out of context carries no such visual clues -
> "Rating: 4.5 out of 5." would be a better choice.
For one bad example of inappropriate alt-text, here's the page at:
http://www.chinx.de/4087_details.htm
as seen with Lynx 2.7ac (": " added in left margin for quoting):
: [1] chinx.de - Cocktails Suchmaschine -
:
: ____________________ [IMAGE]-Submit
: [2] [3] [4] [5]
: [6] [7] [8] [9]
: [10] [11] [12] [13]
: [14] [15] [16] [17]
: [18] [19] [20] [21]
: [22] [23] [24] [25]
: [26] [27] [28]
: [29] [30] [31]
: [32] cocktails
: [33] cocktailrezepte
: [34] cocktail
: [35] cocktail rezepte
: [36] cocktailglaeser
: [37] coktail
: [38] cocktailbar
: [39] cocktailsessel
: [40] mixgetraenke
: [41] cocktail bar
: [42] cocktail mixer
: [43] coktails
: [44] alcoholfrei cockt...
: [45] cocktail suche zu...
: [46] galileo coktails
: [47] hitchcock rope co...
: [48] cocktails tanzbar...
: [49] cocktaildrink
: [50] riesencocktail
: [51] cocktailschalen g...
: [52] cocktails eierlikoer
: [53] rezept cocktail a...
: [54]
: [55]
: [56]
: [57]
: [58]
:
: Details - Mamer Wiselen :: Eemol Wisel, emmer W...
:
:
: [59] Mamer Wiselen :: Eemol Wisel, emmer Wisel
: Mir wäerten ënnen am Atelier, dee mer natierlech ganz ausraumen a
: schéin dékoréieren
:
: Url: [60] http://www.mamerwiselen.lu/modules.php?op=...
: _________________________________________________________________
:
:
: Erweiterte
:
: spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif
: spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif HeaderLeft.gif HeaderTop3.gif
: HeaderTop2.gif spacer.gif 22.02.2005, 00:12 Auer spacer.gif spacer.gif
: spacer.gif Mamer Wiselen spacer.gif BannerTop.gif
:
:
:
:
:
: Zur
:
: chinx.de
: http://www.mamerwiselen.lu/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB_14&file=i
: ndex&ac...
: 22.02.2005 00:04:46
:
: chinx.de
:
: [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66]
:
:
:
: [67]
Note that links [2] to [31], [54] to [58], and [61] to [67] are all
inaccessible to lynx users who just want to use the arrow keys to
navigate (you need press 'l' to get selectable links or access the links
by number) with image links off as there is no label text to have anything
to select. *Somebody* coded alt="" as alt-text for the images used as
link labels. Note that where they *did* include alt-text ("spacer.gif"
and friends), it was useless, just making it harder to find the date and
time on the page. It's the "spacer.gif" images that should have had
alt="" and not the images used as link labels.
The same page with image-links turned on in Lynx:
: [1] chinx.de - Cocktails Suchmaschine -
: [2] [INLINE]
:
: [3] [INLINE]
:
: [4] [INLINE]
: ____________________ [5] [IMAGE]-Submit
: [6] [INLINE]
: [7] [INLINE]
: [8] [INLINE]
: [9] [LINK]-[10] [IMAGE] [11] [LINK]-[12] [IMAGE] [13] [LINK]-[14]
: [IMAGE] [15] [LINK]-[16] [IMAGE]
: [17] [LINK]-[18] [IMAGE] [19] [LINK]-[20] [IMAGE] [21] [LINK]-[22]
: [IMAGE] [23] [LINK]-[24] [IMAGE]
: [25] [LINK]-[26] [IMAGE] [27] [LINK]-[28] [IMAGE] [29] [LINK]-[30]
: [IMAGE] [31] [LINK]-[32] [IMAGE]
: [33] [LINK]-[34] [IMAGE] [35] [LINK]-[36] [IMAGE] [37] [LINK]-[38]
: [IMAGE] [39] [LINK]-[40] [IMAGE]
: [41] [LINK]-[42] [IMAGE] [43] [LINK]-[44] [IMAGE] [45] [LINK]-[46]
: [IMAGE] [47] [LINK]-[48] [IMAGE]
: [49] [LINK]-[50] [IMAGE] [51] [LINK]-[52] [IMAGE] [53] [LINK]-[54]
: [IMAGE] [55] [LINK]-[56] [IMAGE]
: [57] [LINK]-[58] [IMAGE] [59] [LINK]-[60] [IMAGE] [61] [LINK]-[62]
: [IMAGE]
: [63] [LINK]-[64] [IMAGE] [65] [LINK]-[66] [IMAGE] [67] [LINK]-[68]
: [IMAGE]
: [69] [INLINE]
: [70] [INLINE]
: [71] [INLINE]
: [72] cocktails
: [73] cocktailrezepte
: [74] cocktail
: [75] cocktail rezepte
: [76] cocktailglaeser
: [77] coktail
: [78] cocktailbar
: [79] cocktailsessel
: [80] mixgetraenke
: [81] cocktail bar
: [82] cocktail mixer
: [83] coktails
: [84] [INLINE]
: [85] [INLINE]
: [86] [INLINE]
: [87] alcoholfrei cockt...
: [88] cocktail suche zu...
: [89] galileo coktails
: [90] hitchcock rope co...
: [91] cocktails tanzbar...
: [92] cocktaildrink
: [93] riesencocktail
: [94] cocktailschalen g...
: [95] cocktails eierlikoer
: [96] rezept cocktail a...
: [97] [INLINE]
: [98] [INLINE]
: [99] [INLINE]
: [100] [LINK]-[101] [IMAGE]
: [102] [LINK]-[103] [IMAGE]
: [104] [LINK]-[105] [IMAGE]
: [106] [LINK]-[107] [IMAGE]
: [108] [LINK]-[109] [IMAGE]
: [110] [INLINE]
:
: [111] [INLINE]
:
: Details - Mamer Wiselen :: Eemol Wisel, emmer W...
: [112] [INLINE]
:
: [113] Mamer Wiselen :: Eemol Wisel, emmer Wisel
: Mir wäerten ënnen am Atelier, dee mer natierlech ganz ausraumen a
: schéin dékoréieren
:
: Url: [114] http://www.mamerwiselen.lu/modules.php?op=...
: _________________________________________________________________
:
:
: Erweiterte [115] [INLINE]
:
: spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif
: spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif HeaderLeft.gif HeaderTop3.gif
: HeaderTop2.gif spacer.gif 22.02.2005, 00:12 Auer spacer.gif spacer.gif
: spacer.gif Mamer Wiselen spacer.gif BannerTop.gif
:
:
:
:
:
: Zur [116] [INLINE]
:
: [117] [INLINE] chinx.de
: [118] [INLINE]
: http://www.mamerwiselen.lu/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB_14&file=i
: ndex&ac...
: [119] [INLINE] 22.02.2005 00:04:46
: [120] [INLINE]
: [121] [INLINE] chinx.de
:
: [122] [INLINE]
:
: [123] [INLINE]
: [124] [LINK]-[125] [IMAGE] [126] [LINK]-[127] [IMAGE] [128]
: [LINK]-[129] [IMAGE] [130] [LINK]-[131] [IMAGE] [132] [LINK]-[133]
: [IMAGE] [134] [LINK]-[135] [IMAGE]
:
:
:
: [136] [LINK]-[137] [IMAGE]
Google for "gif 48 bytes" and "gif 49 bytes" for a bunch of sites that
have webmasters that think "spacer.gif (48 bytes)" or "shim.gif, 49 bytes"
and similar is appropriate alt text. Then try to view some of those sites
with Lynx and image the sites being read to you that way by a
screen-reader and a speech synthesizer.
I turn the tables on graphical browser users on my protest pages that I
replace my home page with from time to time.
Protesting against graphical sites with no alt text:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~af380/protest4.html
and graphical sites that use alt="" for every image, including link
labels:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~af380/protest8.html
Lynx users wonder what all the fuss is about since the pages look almost
the same to them as my regular home page if image links are turned off.
--
Norman De Forest http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~af380/Profile.html
af380@chebucto.ns.ca [=||=] (A Speech Friendly Site)
"Oh how I miss the days when it was easier to catch gonorhea than a
computer virus." -- Big Will in alt.comp.virus, March 9, 2005
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