ABBR and ACRONYM are for user agents and not for end users. And, in the future, ACRONYM is dead and buried. It's not in the XHTML 2.0 spec. It's all about ABBR.
His core point is that using ABBR for the end users is just wrong. First off, it's not good writing. (caveat: I know nothing about writing. I couldn't write my way out of a wet paper bag.)
When a text writer uses an abbreviation, an acronym, a symbol, a word or an expression not familiar to many of the readers in the target group, it has been Best Practice since the beginning of writing to add some extra information at least once, making the text easier to understand.This makes sense. And why make the user try and mouseover the text to see what the abbreviation is? The tag is meant for accessibility, for screen readers etc. Text can be read from a distance, with no real interaction, while using tooltips, etc, requires work. We don't want the user to work. He thinks that even having the
ABBR styled (like I have here on this site) is wrong. I might agree. He says to style it, but in the other direciton and display it as normal text.
This article has many fine points. I defintely agree with the proper writing aspect of the arguement. My grandmother certainly wouldn't know what to do with an ABBR tagged abreviation. But she can read. And making the user not have to work to get the gist of what you're saying is the certainly the right idea.
But I do like the idea of presenting options. Maybe it's my tendency to show-off.
Anyways the bottom-line is to use ABBR, ditch ACRONYM, and write better. I'm on the fence about displaying the abbreviations.
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Posted at 10:24 AM