[WSG] longdesc use case examples in the wild
Hello Everyone, The W3C HTML 5 Working Group Chairs have decided to drop the longdesc attribute from the HTML specification after a poll on the issue [1] [2]. The Chairs' Decision states that: QUOTE This issue can be reopened if new information comes up. Examples of possible relevant new information include: * use cases that specifically require longdesc, * evidence that correct usage is growing rapidly and that that growth is expected to continue, or * widespread interoperable implementation. UNQUOTE I have been collecting examples of Longdesc Examples in the Wild. [3] Any examples or input would be appreciated. Thanks, Laura [1] HTML5 Working Group Decision on ISSUE-30 longdesc By Sam Ruby, Maciej Stachowiak, and Paul Cotton http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2010Aug/att-0112/issue-30-decision.html [2] ISSUE-30: include a longdesc attribute for images - Straw Poll for Objections http://www.w3.org/2002/09/wbs/40318/issue-30-objection-poll/results [3] http://www.w3.org/html/wg/wiki/LongdescRetention#Examples_with_No_Visual_Link_Text_Clutter Related References: Notice of Impending Formal Objection to HTML5 Issue 30 Decision (@longdesc) http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-a11y/2010Aug/0027.html Longdesc is Dead! Long Live Longdesc! http://www.cfit.ie/news-and-commentary-archive/525-longdesc-rip Strategic Decisions in a Strategy-less Environment http://burningbird.net/node/118 Podcast #83: Fate of Longdesc in HTML5 http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2010/08/podcast-83-fate-of-longdesc-in-html5.html Alone in the Pitch Black Dark http://www.cssquirrel.com/2010/08/16/comic-update-alone-in-the-pitch-black-dark/ No longdesc Attribute in HTML5 http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/201008/no_longdesc_attribute_in_html5/ How do we save longdesc? http://rebuildingtheweb.com/en/how-do-we-save-longdesc/ -- Laura L. Carlson *** List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: memberh...@webstandardsgroup.org ***
[WSG] Longdesc?
I noticed this attribute as part of an img element in Mark Stanton's presentation at the Sydney meeting last Thursday... he didn't make reference to it, though, and I've been struggling to see the application of it ever since. Does longdesc really have to comprise a link to an external page, or can it simply be an extended version of the alt attribute? Regardless, what are the practical applications of this, anyway? Can any user agents read it? Do screen readers use it? Does ANYTHING use it? Right clicking on an image which uses longdesc, then clicking Properties in Firefox reveals the URI which longdesc points to... and the benefits of this make sense, but still... inline display through fetching the longdesc URI if the image is not available would seem to make more sense, at least to me. It's not an urgent matter for resolution, at least, not for me, but I've been musing over it ever since... Joshua Street base10solutions Website: http://www.base10solutions.com/ Phone: (02) 9898-0060 Fax: (02) 8572-6021 Mobile: 0425 808 469 E-mails and any attachments sent from base10solutions are to be regarded as confidential. Please do not distribute or publish any of the contents of this e-mail without the senders consent. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to the e-mail, and then delete the message without making copies or using it in any way. Although base10solutions takes precautions to ensure that e-mail sent from our accounts are free of viruses, we encourage recipients to undertake their own virus scan on each e-mail before opening, as base10solutions accepts no responsibility for loss or damage caused by the contents of this e-mail. ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
Re: [WSG] Longdesc?
Ahh, I didn't even think about the possibility of using anchors! Thanks for the informative response. :) Josh On Sun, 2004-09-19 at 21:29, Patrick H. Lauke wrote: Joshua Street wrote: Does longdesc really have to comprise a link to an external page, or can it simply be an extended version of the alt attribute? as per http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/objects.html#h-13.2 it *has to be* a URI by the way: it doesn't need to be a link to an external page...you can also have longdesc pointing at an anchor or fragment identifier on the same page (e.g. longdesc=#imagedescription) or you can have one single external page for all descriptions, and then link to the specific one for the particular image, again with anchor or fragment identifier (e.g. longdesc=alldescriptions.html#bookcover1) Regardless, what are the practical applications of this, anyway? Can any user agents read it? Do screen readers use it? Does ANYTHING use it? if by use it you mean expose it to the user then in most cases the answer seems to be no. can't vouch for it, as i haven't got any installed here at home, but i do seem to recall that some screenreaders to present the option to jump to the longdesc when they encounter it. incidentally, i've just written an extension for firefox to offer a View Image Longdesc: ... in the image context menu, whenever an image actually has a longdesc attribute set. http://www.splintered.co.uk/experiments/55/ i'm hoping that this sort of thing will make it into the browser(s) as standard. inline display through fetching the longdesc URI if the image is not available would seem to make more sense, at least to me. no, that's what ALT is for. imagine if the image is a book cover. the ALT would say book cover: title of book and the document referenced by the londesc would go into the details of what the cover looks like, e.g. a man and a woman, kissing in front of a nuclear explosion while debris flies all around the scene or something. now imagine your screenreader is reading out the page...having the longdesc plonked right there in the middle of the original document would be very disruptive to the flow of the document, and in most cases unnecessary and distracting if the ALT already adequately conveys what the image is for. Patrick _ redux (adj.): brought back; returned. used postpositively [latin : re-, re- + dux, leader; see duke.] www.splintered.co.uk | www.photographia.co.uk http://redux.deviantart.com ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help ** ** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ Proud presenters of Web Essentials 04 http://we04.com/ Web standards, accessibility, inspiration, knowledge To be held in Sydney, September 30 and October 1, 2004 See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list getting help **
