Change to Easy Checks draft about images

In the section on images [1], there should be a mention that images of math
equations should be encoded in MathML and not as a static image.  Any
static alt text for math will likely be poor for people who are blind or
poor for people with learning disabilities.  The former group needs to know
where 2-d math notations begin and end and for the later group, hearing
"begin xxx"/"end exx" adds to the complexity of decoding a math
expression.  Furthermore, math has its own braille code that can not be
generated from a textual description.  With MathML, textual descriptions
can be generated on the fly as can various braille math codes.

If you talk with anyone at a disabilities service office, they will tell
you that math accessibility is one of the biggest problems they face. This
page should be pushing people to do the right thing, not ignoring the
problem and thereby perpetuating it.

Some WCAG pages related to using MathML are [2] and [3].

Sincerely,

Neil Soiffer
Senior Scientist
Design Science, Inc.
www.dessci.com
~ Makers of MathType, MathFlow, MathPlayer, MathDaisy, Equation Editor ~



[1]  http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/preliminary#images
[2]  http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20/tests/test135.html
[3]  http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/G115.html

Received on Tuesday, 9 July 2013 00:53:43 UTC