title: <span> vs <figure> vs <area>
body: <p>I'm wondering what the difference is between 'span' and the new HTML5 tags 'figure' and 'area'.</p>
  
  <p>What is the intended purpose of each, and what are the appropriate uses? For example, I frequently use a 'span' with a background image rather than an 'img' tag to prevent the image from being selectable; what is the best element to accomplish this?</p>