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4.8.1.1.3 Charts, diagrams, graphs, maps, illustrations ---snip of document--- First, here's the good solution. This sample shows how the alternative text should just be what you would have put in the prose if the image had never existed. <!-- This is the correct way to do things. --> <p> You are standing in an open field west of a house. <img src="house.jpeg" alt="The house is white, with a boarded front door."> There is a small mailbox here.</p> Second, here's the bad solution. In this incorrect way of doing things, the alternative text is simply a description of the image, instead of a textual replacement for the image. It's bad because when the image isn't shown, the text doesn't flow as well as in the first example. <!-- This is the wrong way to do things. --> <p> You are standing in an open field west of a house. <img src="house.jpeg" alt="A white house, with a boarded front door."> There is a small mailbox here. </p> Text such as "Photo of white house with boarded door" would be equally bad alternative text (though it could be suitable for the title attribute or in the figcaption element of a figure with this image). ---end of snip of document--- I think this example will leave some people scratching their heads. I think trying to work ALT text into the main body of the text, does not realistically reflect what happens when a screen reader encounters an image. Under most screen reader configurations the graphic will be announced, so there necessarily be a break in the flow of the paragraph anyway. I don't think the first example helps the flow of the paragraph at all. And then saying "This is the wrong way to do things" and while presenting an example of perfectly acceptable alt text, is going to confuse people.
(In reply to comment #0) > 4.8.1.1.3 Charts, diagrams, graphs, maps, illustrations > > ---snip of document--- > > First, here's the good solution. This sample shows how the alternative text > should just be what you would have put in the prose if the image had never > existed. > > <!-- This is the correct way to do things. --> > <p> > You are standing in an open field west of a house. > <img src="house.jpeg" alt="The house is white, with a boarded front door."> > There is a small mailbox here.</p> > > Second, here's the bad solution. In this incorrect way of doing things, the > alternative text is simply a description of the image, instead of a textual > replacement for the image. It's bad because when the image isn't shown, the > text doesn't flow as well as in the first example. > > <!-- This is the wrong way to do things. --> > <p> > You are standing in an open field west of a house. > <img src="house.jpeg" alt="A white house, with a boarded front door."> > There is a small mailbox here. > </p> > > Text such as "Photo of white house with boarded door" would be equally bad > alternative text (though it could be suitable for the title attribute or in > the figcaption element of a figure with this image). > > ---end of snip of document--- > > I think this example will leave some people scratching their heads. I think > trying to work ALT text into the main body of the text, does not > realistically reflect what happens when a screen reader encounters an image. > Under most screen reader configurations the graphic will be announced, so > there necessarily be a break in the flow of the paragraph anyway. I don't > think the first example helps the flow of the paragraph at all. And then > saying "This is the wrong way to do things" and while presenting an example > of perfectly acceptable alt text, is going to confuse people. thanks dave Note this is one of the sections that is in need of update so will change soon
EDITOR'S RESPONSE: This is an Editor's Response to your comment. If you are satisfied with this response, please change the state of this bug to CLOSED. If you have additional information and would like the Editor to reconsider, please reopen this bug. If you would like to escalate the issue to the full HTML Working Group, please add the TrackerRequest keyword to this bug, and suggest title and text for the Tracker Issue; or you may create a Tracker Issue yourself, if you are able to do so. For more details, see this document: http://dev.w3.org/html5/decision-policy/decision-policy.html Status: later Change Description: will wait until updated text is added. Rationale: feedback on text that will be replaced in update. please review when text is updated and re-open or file a new bug as appropriate.