Empty links test cases

The purpose of these test cases is to understand what the implications are of using links with no text, and whether these type of links create any accessibility barriers to a screen reader user.

In each test case that follows, browser through the test paragraph as you would normally browse a web page that you would read. In each case, make a note of how many links you heard, as well as what the text of that link was (also note if the link has no text at all, or there were no links).

Also make a note of anything unusual or weird - anything that may confuse a screen reader user.

There are 18 test case on this page, all identified by a second-level header.

Please email your findings to me - Mike Davies, Please also include details of the screen reader you are using (including the version number), and the browser you use (including the version number).

The text of the test cases comes from an article in today's London Metro (9th November), titled 'A venemous visitor that packs a painful punch'.

Test case 1

Flooding may well be the big talking point around the coast of Britain today but, it seems, high water levels are not the only threat we face from the sea.

Test case 2

For, lurking in the depths off England is the deadliest piece of string in the animal world. It may look like a discarded strand of tinsel from a Christman tree but this is, in fact, a group of rare and poisonous sea creatures.

Test case 3

The species has been spotted off the coast of Devon and Cornwall for the first time. Marine biologist Dr Paul Gainey said: "It is a very exciting and unusual find."

Test case 4

Called apolemia uvaria, it is known as the "long string jellyfish" because of the way its members bind together to wipe out their prey.

Test case 5

Like a killer chorus link, tiny individual organisms link to form chains more than 30 metres long.

Test case 6

The resulting "string of sting" is the perfect weapon for trapping large fish and giving curious humans a nasty pain. Apolemia is part of the siphonophore family, like the Portuguese man-of-war, but it is not actually a jellyfish.

Test case 7

When it comes across a fish, the string attaches to its skin. As the victim tries to free itself, more bits of string attach until the whole colony clings to the victim's body.

Test case 8

In 1997, one colony wiped out a large number of salmon in Norway. Although the stings are not fatal to humans, they are very painful and people should keep their distance, especially divers.

Test case 9

The string jellyfish seen off the Cornish coast are siphonophores, not jellyfish. The difference is that siphonophores live and feed together in colonies, unlike jellyfish which are individual creatures. The most commonly known siphonophore is the Portuguese man-of war.

Test case 10

The box jellyfish kills more people each year than any other marine creature. It has the most poisonous toxin of any animal known to man.

Test case 11

Some jellyfish move around using jet propulsion while other species just drift , using the ocean currents to get from place to place.

Test case 12

Jellyfish have no brain, blood or nervous system. They have small sensory organs on and around their bell . These sensory organs are known as rhopalia and jellyfish use them to identify light and odour.

Test case 13

It is estimated that there may be up to 2,000 species of jellyfish around the globe and only about 70 species are dangerous to humans.

Test case 14

An adult jellyfish's body can be made of up to 98 percent water.

Test case 15

Jellyfish are able to reproduce both sexually and asexually during different parts of their life cycles.

Test case 16

The arctic lion's mane is the largest jellyfish in the world, it can grow to 2.5m wide and its tentacles can reach more than 35m.

Test case 17

The collective noun for a group of jellyfish is a "smuck" or "smack" .

Test case 18

Since jellyfish do not biologically qualify as actual "fish", the term jellyfish is considered incorrect by some people, who instead call them "jellies" or "sea jellies".

End of test cases

Thank you for your time.