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by chiefalchemist 1766 days ago
Thank you. Blank alt text is a valid answer. Decorative image (i.e., images which effectively add no value to the content) should not be alt'ed.

Unfortunately, SEOs have led too many people to believe otherwise. As if some random BS (stock photo) image is going going to become some sort of beacon for quality traffic. This isn't going to change until Google uses its image interpreter to penalize alt'ed images that shouldn't be.
1 comments
_Microft 1766 days ago
Do you have experience with screenreaders or are you arguing from a theoretical point? If this is from your personal experience, I will argue no further, if not:

If "for decoration" is a valid reason to add "unnecessary images" for the sighted, why shouldn't they have "decorative alt-texts" for those who cannot see? If it is not a valid reason, why are these images there in the first place?

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chiefalchemist 1761 days ago
I'm not arguing anything. It's in the spec / standard.

https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG3/2020/methods/decorative-imag...

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