[thelist] Good alt texts [was .gif texts]

[aardvark]

> From: Adam Patrick <apatrick at oracular.com>
[snip]
> 
> - For spacer images and filler stuff, use alt="" so text browsers
> don't even know they're there.

that's what i do...

> - For the picture of the statue (or others that serve *only* to spruce
> up), use alt="", the text browser/reader doesn't necissarily need to
> know about that either.

i do that every now and then, but since the 4.x browsers on win 
use the 'alt' as a tool-tip, i sometimes add a little more value to the 
image and stuff a caption of some sort in there... sometimes i just 
leave it as a blank 'alt'...

> - For the "Welcome..." image, use alt="Welcome to the official
> internet site of...." instead of "A heading that reads: Welcome to the
> official..." because the text browser/reader doesn't really need to
> know that that was an image, only what it said.  Same for navigation
> or other related images with text or icons, etc...

now that i completely agree with... after all, as long as the 'alt' is 
there, the user with the screen reader doesn't give a rat's molar 
whether or not the header (or some other text) is an image... if 
anything, it slows the process down...

instead, a description like that is better used for something like, "A 
table showing how many more people surf at 1,204x768 than 
800x600" and let the caption and/or accompanying text describe 
the data...

or for banner ads, "Don't click me."