If the screenreader supports the aria-hidden selector it is a fairly good solution to the accessibility issue, but if a user uses his own stylesheet this will just show the character used.
I think this is a typical solution to improve the life of developers without keeping in mind the end-users. I do love this solution, but in the end the old-fashioned solutions might be more appropriate until this is fixed in both browsers and screenreaders.
Vote up?
12/12/2011
If the screenreader supports the aria-hidden selector it is a fairly good solution to the accessibility issue, but if a user uses his own stylesheet this will just show the character used.
I think this is a typical solution to improve the life of developers without keeping in mind the end-users. I do love this solution, but in the end the old-fashioned solutions might be more appropriate until this is fixed in both browsers and screenreaders.