DrDoc - 3:37 am on Feb 22, 2006 (gmt 0)

<abbr> vs. <acronym> elements.

Don't use <abbr> for acronyms, or <acronym> for abbreviations.

Acronyms:
radar
scuba
FYI
WYSIWYG

Abbreviations:
incl
excl
max
min

Problem - Internet Explorer ignores <abbr>.

Older versions of Internet Explorer (version 6 and older) do not understand the abbr element at all. It is treated no different than a made up element such as <jedi>.

Do not, however, resort to using the acronym element everywhere in place of abbr simply because IE lacks support. Instead, utilize one of the methods available for tricking IE into understanding <abbr> while not changing the HTML source itself.

This thread [webmasterworld.com] contains some interesting discussion on the problem, along with a few possible solutions.

Disclaimer: The accessibility level for any of the solutions discussed in the aforementioned thread cannot be guaranteed, nor has it undergone accessibility testing.