23 replies to this topic

[linux_lover]

I just tested with Jaws 4.5 and I can hear no diff between <i> <em> or <b> <strong>
So... I guess its just getting finicky.

[Jill]

The Web is a visual medium. Why would they get rid of tags like bold and italics in favor of tags that help explain how something should be spoken?

I understand having both so as not to be discriminatory, but aren't b and i deprecated or something?

I'm completely baffled by this!

[Shane]

If I use <b> and <i>, screen readers may not emphasize things the way I want them to. That's alright. It doesn't take away from their experience. Using those tags does, though, save me time and bandwidth (however small), plus (maybe) give a little SEO boost.

Weighing both sides, I'd still stick with <b> and <i>.

[torka]

The Web is a visual medium.  Why would they get rid of tags like bold and italics in favor of tags that help explain how something should be spoken?

They're not deprecating <b> and <i> in favor of <strong> and <em>, they're deprecating them in favor of CSS. We're supposed to be totally separating the content from the presentation, which makes the Web accessible to everyone, not just those with good eyesight and hearing.

It's just that right now, CSS is still a bit more unwieldy for things like this, and the visual browsers do still support the deprecated (and shorter, easier) tags.

There are also CSS2 styles for use in aural stylesheets (pitch, stress and volume, for instance) that could replace <strong> and <em>, but it's my understanding they haven't yet been as widely implemented by screen readers as the visual styles have been by visual browsers.

--Torka

[arlen]

I thought I had read somewhere that <em> will be interpreted by some browsers as <i> and others as <u> ... am I wrong?

It makes most sense to me, and is easier to use shorter versions, but I appreciate the debate, it's enlightening

[linux_lover]

Yes torka, CSS2 will kick ass when everything supports it............ 2 years...... 3 years..... ooo IE supports it </sarcasm>

[Jill]

They're not deprecating <b> and <i> in favor of <strong> and <em>, they're deprecating them in favor of CSS. We're supposed to be totally separating the content from the presentation, which makes the Web accessible to everyone, not just those with good eyesight and hearing. smile.gif

Eh...shows what I know.

I should just keep quiet on these things that I know nothing about!

[torka]

Yes torka, CSS2 will kick ass when everything supports it............ 2 years...... 3 years.....

You're such an optimist!

--Torka

[maleman]

Hi Folks,

Yes torka, CSS2 will kick ass when everything supports it............ 2 years...... 3 years.....

2 to 3 years! Holy Moly, that sounds like a long time. 3 years ago I was running a 400 MHZ Processor with 64 MB Ram :^)

.......................................

On inheritance. I may have missed an explanation but I can explain my version of inheritance with this code:

p { font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; font-family: verdana, aril, serif }

p.Black { color: #000000; padding-left: 20 px}

p.Red { color: #FF0000: background: #CCCCCC}

Children "p.Black" and "p.Red" inherit the properties defined in Parent "p" and merge the Parent properties with their own.

"p.Black" would contain these properties:

p.Black { color: #000000; padding-left: 20 px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; font-family: verdana, aril, serif}