Next Tasks on the Text Alternatives Document

Hi!

First, thanks for appointing me co-editor of this document.  I look forward
to working with Liam and the task force to get the changes made quickly.

Second, Liam and I had a quick meeting today to talk about the current
state of the document, and what we think the next tasks are. Our
brainstorming produced the following list of points, in no particular
order.  We wanted to share them with the task force now, but would like to
discuss them on the call on 20 November - assuming there is room on the
agenda.

   1. The document should be correct.  This is just a general philosophical
   point - specifics below.
   2. Should address longdesc relationship with alt, including having
   appropriate examples that use longdesc.
   3. Duplicated text shouldn't be in html specification - it will diverge
   with this note and there is always a risk that there will be conflicting
   advise.  Moreover, the HTML spec already references this note.
   4. When making sure the document is "correct", does "correct" mean what
   we think people ought to do or should the examples work in browsers? We
   think the examples should work in browsers.
   5. What about techniques to avoid, that don't work?  Is it useful to
   cover those.  We think that it could be helpful if there are obvious bad
   techniques.
   6. Should the document tell browsers what to do with @alt? We are not
   clear on this.  If so, then a simple HTML 5-like text about proper behavior
   when presenting alt text could be written.
   7. (does that include security aspects e.g. if whether alt was used,
   info on a broken image icon)


Once the task force agrees on the general guidance, our plan is to raise
bugs for specific proposed changes to the document, then iterate with the
task force on those changes and get them integrated as they are agreed upon.

Liam and I are both very comfortable with the W3C publication process, so I
anticipate smooth sailing in that regard.  Let's turn the crank and get
this thing updated!
-- 
Shane McCarron
Managing Director, Applied Testing and Technology, Inc.