On 11/5/07 1:08 AM, "russ - maxdesign" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Well, technically this is not an acroynm or even a tag. :) > > "An acronym is defined as a WORD formed from the initial letters of a > multi-word name. The important point here is that an acronym must be a WORD > - this means that the joined initial letters must be able to be pronounced." > http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/abbreviations/ > > Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is actually an initialism - An > abbreviation pronounced as the names of the individual letters formed only > from the initial letter of constituent words. > > Initialisms are subsets of abbreviations. So theoretically this should be > marked up using the <abbr> element: > <abbr title=" Metropolitan Statistical Area">M.S.A.</abbr> > > The problem is that the <abbr> is poorly supported by IE5 and IE6. This > means you may have to (1) revert to using the <acronym> element, or (2) > place a span inside your <abbr> element and style this instead or (3) use > JavaScript: > http://annevankesteren.nl/2003/08/improved-styling-abbr-in-ie > > The full stops between the letters in the initialism are used by some > authors in order to allow screen readers to spell out the letters properly > rather than coming out as a single unintelligible word - "msah". > > Oh, and I'd vote for just the first instance on each page - as others have > suggested. > > Thanks > Russ > Russ is indeed absolutely correct. These terms are confused all the time, and while colloquial use might have become blurred in recent years, their technical definitions have not. -- Kevin Futter Webmaster, St. Bernard's College http://www.sbc.melb.catholic.edu.au/ ##################################################################################### This e-mail message has been scanned for Viruses and Content and cleared by MailMarshal ##################################################################################### This e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. You must not disclose or use the information in this e-mail if you are not the intended recipient. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately and delete the e-mail and all copies. The College does not guarantee that this e-mail is virus or error free. The attached files are provided and may only be used on the basis that the user assumes all responsibility for any loss, damage or consequence resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the attached files, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not. The content and opinions in this e-mail are not necessarily those of the College. ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
