Change order of questions in alt Decision Tree

[tamsinewing555]

Resource URL

https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/

Description

Reference: https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Team/wai/2025JanMar/0044.html

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes has identified an issue with the alt Decision Tree:

I have to question the sequencing of the steps on this page: I believe that
they are either out of sequence, or else the first step is confusingly
written.

As it is, the first step asks whether the image contains text. Following
the instructions here, if the image contains even a small amount of text, I
will either leave the alt attribute blank, or else copy the text into it;
and in either case, it appears that I would stop there.

It is only in the third step that I would add descriptive text to the
*alt *attribute
of an image that "contribute[s] meaning to the current page or context."
If, however, I have stopped on the first step, because the image contained
some text, then I will never reach this step.

I'm pretty sure that this is not what is intended. I can suggest three
possible fixes:

1. Move the current third step to the top.
2. Change the question part of the first step to read "Does the image
   contain only text?"
3. In some way, make it clear that one does not stop on step 1 if the
   image contains text plus additional elements.

The first of these would be my preference, but do what best fits the needs
of your target audience.

Resource Shortname

wai-tutorials

[tamsinewing555]

I think I agree that the order of questions could cause people to stop too early in the decision tree.

I would find the following order more logical:

• Is the image purely decorative or not intended for users?
• Does the image contribute meaning to the current page or context?
• Does the image contain text?
• Is the image used in a link or a button, and would it be hard or impossible to understand what the link or the button does, if the image wasn’t there?

The question about text in images needs to remain ‘Does the image contain text?’.
This is because the requirement applies to images that contain any meaningful text whatsoever.
What is meaningful depends entirely on the context in which the image is placed.

[remibetin]

Note: this resource is very popular and translated in 8 languages. Would be good to keep in mind when assessing whether an update is essential, and the possible solutions.