[html4all] Figure ideas (was: Article by Catherine: Feedback on accessibility concerns in HTML5)

[rob at robburns.com]

Hi Leif,

> On 2007-09-21 05:06:25 +0200 Robert Burns <rob at robburns.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sep 20, 2007, at 9:49 PM, zara wrote:
>
>> The figure element does raise the issue of embedded content that
>> is illustrative of the prose already included in a document. When
>> an image is included in a figure element with a caption, that
>> relationship is explicit
>
> And that is quite important. If the the automatic cross-reference
> system of HTML 5 is used, then one can create links links to/from a
> word/words in the caption text and to somewhere else in the document.
> This could reduce the need for the @longdesc - I mean, not the need
> for it in the spec, but the need to use the @longdesc.
>
> Also - the caption text would become the natural place to place
> D-links, if/when they are needed.

I'm not sure what automatic cross-reference system you're referring to.
Also, the issue of creating links does not really get at the purpose of
longdesc. Though it uses a URI, a longdesc should be kept distinct from a
hyperlink. We want them both to be possible for the same element and we
want them clearly distinguished. In many ways a longdesc is closer to an
embedding than it is to a link.

Take care,
Rob