[html4all] [html4all.org] Content-type negotiation as an alternative to ALT, LONGDESC and fallback

[Jason White]

On Sat, Aug 25, 2007 at 08:20:34AM -0500, Robert Burns wrote:
> I have to say that is an intriguing idea. I had never though of  
> delivering text instead of an image through negotiation. I'll have to  
> think about it further, but it might be a workable solution in some  
> settings. I wouldn't want us to just give up on providing an HTML  
> solution to the problem, but until that solution exists, this could  
> work.

The main problem is that HTML (and XHTML) documents are not always served via
HTTP. If they are on my local file system, or a networked file system such as
NFS or AFS, there won't be any HTTP negotiation.

Serving HTML over ftp is possible, and sometimes happens.

Finally, not all authors are able to configure their servers, as in certain
hosted situations.

Thus, while it may work in some cases, it isn't a substitute for a solution
implemented entirely in markup; and I wouldn't mention it on the main list, as
it could then lead to a debate about the circumstances in which it is
inadequate, distracting attention from the problem of deciding what
markup-based solution the spec should provide.