[uf-dev] Suggested new parsing rule for alt text

[Drew McLellan]

On 23 Mar 2007, at 10:31, sid jansen wrote:

>> 2007/3/23, Drew McLellan <lists at allinthehead.com>:
>> On 22 Mar 2007, at 17:14, Andy Mabbett wrote:
>>
>> > I suggest that this rule be adopted, for *all* microformats, unless
>> > there are good reasons for specific exceptions:
>> >
>> >         Where an element contains only an image element, and the
>> > parser
>> >         is expecting text, the alt text of the image should be  
>> used.
>>
>> tbh I though that this was already a rule. It's a rule native to
>> HTML, so we therefore inherit it for free.
>>
>> It certainly seems like common sense, and I believe hKit already
>> behaves in this way.
>>
>> drew.
>>
>
> I disagree.
>
> By using the h1-tag you are already announcing that the enclosed  
> data will be text data, just as the img-tag announces upcoming  
> picture-data.
The proposal Andy made relates only to the IMG element. Please focus  
on the issue being discussed.

> So, even the use of the img-tag within any kind of heading is  
> semantically incorrect html. In addition, the alt-attribute is  
> meant as, in this case, non-text-equivalent to compensate reading- 
> disabilities (More here: w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#def-text- 
> equivalent), not to add additional or even false information to a  
> non-text element.
>
> The reason for wanting to place an img-tag within a heading is of  
> course a pure matter of style, which can easily be achieved by one  
> of the numerous Image-Replacement techniques (Actually they're Text- 
> Replacement techniques. A list you can find here: mezzoblue.com/ 
> tests/revised-image-replacement) which add the desired image as a  
> background defined in the stylesheet, rather than polluting the  
> html file with misleading markup.
>
> So, the problem of your example is that I believe your approach is  
> wrong and unnecessary.
You may have all day to debate the pros and cons of an off-the-cuff  
example, but others do not. The issue being discussed is whether  
microformats parsers should take the ALT attribute of an IMG element  
to be a textual equivalent of an image. My assertion is that this  
rule exists in HTML, and therefore becomes an implicit rule of  
parsing microformats.

Presuming to lecture people on this list about the ALT attribute and  
Image Replacement techniques is near tantamount to trolling, in my  
personal opinion. Please do try to avoid unnecessary conversational  
tangents - it doesn't move us forward.


drew.