[thelist] Site Check

[MRC]

Paul,

> but why? what advantage/disadvantage is/are there?

    Primarily it's for accessibility -- both for users who rely on screen
readers, and for user agents that don't display graphics or in which
graphics display is turned off. You allow those users to better understand
the content of your pages.
    There is also the added benefit that even users who have graphics
enabled won't have to wait for the graphics to download before they can make
an educated judgment about the content of the page -- especially helpful to
users accessing over dial-up connections.
    Since the alt attribute is required by the HTML 4.x recommendation, I
would also suggest that using it consistently is a mark of professionalism,
though some might disagree.

James Aylard

P.S. - You would make a lot of Evolt's digest readers very happy by
consistently trimming your posts.