Re: alt attribute and the purpose/meaning of an image

Alan J. Flavell wrote: 
On Wed, 21 Dec 2005, Inger Helene Falch-Jacobsen wrote:


I think that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" hasn't been introduced as an issue here yet. What you think is beautiful, may look not-so-good to another. I'd go for 'Type/model name' lampshade as suggested by Spartanicus and others.

But while I'm here, what do the folks here think about my alt text for the picture on my home page - "Me when I was seven."?


With respect, I get the impression, from your examples, that you're confusing the function/purpose of the alternative text with the function/purpose of a caption. If the picture is worth captioning, then give it a caption, and re-think the alternative text. If it's not, then maybe it doesn't contain enough information content to deserve a non-null alternative text for users with image viewing turned off or impossible, but read on...

Well, yes, I am confused! It's not only the language barrier. What is the difference between alt text and a caption, and how should I mark it up? I thought caption was something you should use with a table, not an image.
You don't mean I should write "young caucasian child, possibly female, smiling, wearing pink sweater and denim overcoat"? ;-) Or simply just alt="" ?
All I can say is that the function/purpose of having the picture there is to give my (seeing) visitors something to "relate" to. The picture is not just for decoration (I wasn't that pretty a child), and it is showing a real person. Not just a stock photo. But it doesn't carry vital information either! Help?

Having said that, only the author can really know what they meant to achieve by including an image, so, in the final analysis, no outsider can do that job for them with any certainy - all that an outsider can do is to comment when an alt text does not appear to be a bona fide "textual alternative". The situation where the whole purpose of a web page is to present a picture is, I'd say, the most ticklish for choice of an alt text, and, sometimes, a short description of the salient content of the picture may be the only recourse in this special case.

Of course, my general views on this topic are and have been on record for quite some time at the widely cited URL http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~flavell/alt/alt-text.html

I have been there before, I remember the canoeing bull! You are writing in a clear and understandable way, but it is quite a heavy read for me, as I don't fully understand all the terms. It's difficult to grasp it all, but I understand that it is a difficult area.


--
Inger Helene Falch-Jacobsen
http://home.no.net/ingernet/
.

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