[thelist] Bold vs. Strong

[Joel D Canfield]

	One of my friends raised the eternal question on whether it's
better to us
	<b> or <strong>.  I tried to explain semantics versus
presentation, blah,
	blah.  Not sure I did a good job.  I tried to google some really
compelling
	arguments but found that the subject has become watered down on
too many
	lists to find anything useful at the top of the pile.  Anyone
know where I
	can find *the* most unrebuttable argument to use <strong>
instead of <b>?
	==========================================================

	
	For me, it's accessibility: someone who's sight impaired visits
the site, and instead of their screen reader emphasizing the STRONG
words, it may skip right over the BOLD text, which has no semantic
impact whatsoever. The web is a semantic medium, not merely a visual
one, as print is. No one would question why you use bold text instead of
a volume change in a printed page, would they? It's inappropriate to the
medium (not to mention perhaps physically impossible.)
	 
	Until people stop confusing the web with print, this argument
will continue, won't it?
	 
	spinhead