On Mon, September 10, 2007 1:44 am, Nick Gleitzman wrote: > Hassan Schroeder wrote: > > Absolutely. But this whole thread started with the issue of whether alt > text should be optional in HTML5. >
Well, that's simple enough. The only reason the alt-text is being proposed to be optional is because Microsoft are involved with defining HTML5. Microsoft have always been against standards; they chose not to be involved with XHTML and (having seen the threat that represented to them) have joined with HTML5 in order to water down the standards. Microsoft have millions of legacy Websites built with their own proprietary, non-standards HTML using their deficient WYSIWYG software. If those sites fall down in Standards compliant browsers, Microsoft has egg on it's face for going against standards in the first place and millions of complaining customers. This also the reason they have never produced a Standards compliant browser - they have to cater for backwards compatibility with all those sites written in their proprietary versions of HTML. This is why alt-text is proposed being optional - its nothing to do with it's effectiveness as an aid to accessibility or anything to do with improving standards. ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
