Non-visual media; Element structure

[jeffmott]

I've had a couple questions sitting in the back of my head for a while now.

First, the vertical bar "|" is often used as a separator between links. However, I believe this particular character is chosen because it provides a good visual separator. I'm curious how non-visual mediums interpret this, and what a better choice might be.

Second, since HTML is supposed to define the structure of a document (headings, paragraphs, citations, etc.), what type of structure is the BR element meant to represent? It seems to do little more than affect the visual rendering. Similarly with the HR element.

And while on the topic of HTML elements with no structural purpose, I'm wondering why the elements TT, I, B, BIG, and SMALL were not deprecated in HTML 4.01.

[boojum]

i dont know but i guess the links encountered by a nonvisual ua would cause some sort of break themselves (to allow time for navigation). so i guess the vertical bars are ignored, not harmful, helpful, or necessary.

<br> probably will be deprecated by <l> in xhtml2. as far as i hear (i havent read any drafts, just scanned, but there isnt much in them right now anyhow) <l> is <br> but with an implied semantic context which visualy results in a line break. what the context is i dont know. also: "Several reviewers have commented that the l element is not really a replacement for the br element, and that both are needed. The working group is still discussing this issue."

i dont know about the future of <hr> but using a div is often better anyway, and yes it is just visual. taken from the spec: The HR element causes a horizontal rule to be rendered by visual user agents. also: "It has been suggested that hr be removed or renamed to, for instance, <separator/>. The working group has not yet addressed this suggestion."

as far as the other tags, i expect/ hope them to be out or depricated in x2. i takes time to phase stuff out.