The <output> Tag

Accessibility, ARIA, and Education Gaps

• Several commenters admit they didn’t know what ARIA stands for or hadn’t encountered accessibility in university web/ethics courses.
• Others argue accessibility is a basic professional responsibility and should be taught alongside core web skills, comparing ARIA to physical accessibility requirements in architecture.
• MDN’s “first rule of ARIA” (prefer native elements over ARIA roles) is cited as aligning with the article’s message about using <output>.

Why <output> Is Little‑Known

• Many developers learn by copying existing code and never read the full list of HTML elements; they rely heavily on <div> and JavaScript.
• Some suggest historical reasons: features were once inconsistent across browsers, so JS solutions became entrenched and never revisited.
• There’s skepticism about tags that “do only half of what a developer wants,” are hard to style/extend, or don’t clearly improve visible UX.

Browser, Screen Reader, and Spec Support

• The article’s note about having to add role="status" despite an implicit status role triggers debate over whether browsers or screen readers are at fault.
• Some say <output> should “just work” after 17 years; others call it a chicken‑and‑egg problem: low usage leads to poor AT support.
• There’s uncertainty over how well attributes like for on <output> are actually exposed to assistive tech, though some report it helps dynamic announcements.

Semantic HTML vs “Div Soup”

• One camp values semantic tags for accessibility, cleaner markup, EPUB and reader modes, and easier testing and landmark navigation.
• Another camp sees semantic HTML as over‑theorized and under‑delivering: browsers don’t surface many semantic affordances to sighted users, so devs default to <div> plus ARIA.
• Some go further, calling semantic HTML a “novice trap” and arguing developers should stick to patterns (e.g., aria-live) that are widely used and known to work.

Feature Design, Extensions, and “Half‑Baked” HTML

• Several commenters see <output> as underpowered: you still need JS to set values, and it lacks helpful typing/formatting features.
• One proposes a type attribute (text, number, currency, date/time variants) with locale‑aware formatting, while others question currency semantics and data vs presentation boundaries.
• Broader frustration appears around inconsistent or fragile HTML features like <input type="date">, blamed partly on Safari/Firefox, which encourages JS-based replacements.

LLMs, Teaching, and Ecosystem Effects

• People wonder whether code‑generating LLMs use <output>, noting that rare tags in real codebases will be rare in model outputs.
• Some worry that as more devs “vibe code” from LLMs rather than specs, underused standard features will stagnate or be forgotten.
• Others report that LLMs occasionally do introduce <output>, hinting that spec/docs training influences them somewhat.

Miscellaneous Reactions

• Mixed reactions to the article’s AI-generated header image: some see it as harmless clip‑art replacement; others object on principle.
• A few criticize the article site’s custom scrolling behavior as ironic on a page about accessibility.
• Some readers are pleased to discover <output> for the first time and plan to adopt it; others remain unconvinced it adds enough beyond a readonly <input> or a <span> with ARIA.