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2024-12-09 14:08:30

leadegroot@bne.social

@stefan it being possible

(Ive long know images should have alt text, being in the trade, but fedi is the first experience ive had where i could put alt text on uploaded images!!!)

2024-12-09 14:10:06

Sam Clemente

countablenewt@allthingstech.social

@stefan I know about the necessity, but in my haste I often would forget, the ability to keep posts from uploading until images had Alt text really helped

2024-12-09 14:10:17

djpanini

djpanini@mastodon.uno

@stefan a suggestion from admin! & @altbot

2024-12-09 14:13:51

klml

klml@chaos.social

@stefan it was written in the books of books @selfhtml since the beginning of time!

2024-12-09 14:17:10

L'égrégore André ꕭꕬ

Mabande@mastodon.social

@stefan General Knowledge got me started and Something Else keeps me going: seeing how people appreciate it (and enjoying reading someone's well crafted alt myself).

2024-12-09 14:25:35

🔥Cassandra🔥

Cassandra@autistics.life

@stefan Fun poll. I like how you distinguish between explaining and nagging. ?

I don't remember specifically how I learned about the importance of alt text, but I do remember tech being a big hurdle on the free web interface. The input process was *awful.* IIRC the text box only fit about a dozen words at a time, and you couldn't even see the image you were describing.

I ended up paying for an app because it was so miserable trying to do alt text on the free service. Hopefully it's better now.

2024-12-09 14:31:29

Mx. Eddie R

silvermoon82@wandering.shop

@stefan
For me, it was the combination of culture (from Day 1, my feed was gently pro-alttext) and tooling; Masto is the first software I've used that made alt texting images easy and a firsy-class part of the flow.

2024-12-09 14:32:13

📄 Mehdi.doc

mehdi_benadel@mastodon.balamb.fr

@stefan People with disability asking the community for ALT made me update it.

2024-12-09 14:36:25

Mike Torr

macronencer@mastodon.scot

@stefan I was using alt text on my Wordpress blog before I came to Mastodon so I put that under "general knowledge" (I also had a colleague who did QA on front ends, who educated me about a lot of accessibility issues).

That said, another big motivator for me is that I actually enjoy writing alt text. As an amateur writer, I find it to be excellent practice for writing descriptive prose.

2024-12-09 14:40:54

Flock of Nazguls

flockofnazguls@mastodon.social

@stefan I would even go further than the usual 'accessibility' term and say: basic human empathy.

2024-12-09 14:42:44

schratze

schratze@todon.nl

@stefan mutuals with visual impairments posting about how to do it and how not to do it

2024-12-09 14:46:14

ts 🚇

tsyum@thepit.social

@stefan @D_J_Nathanson I’ve been learning a lot about the importance of accessibility, how it benefits everybody. IMO we gain from making things accessible to disabled people so they can participate, but it helps to know that (e.g.) something like a ramp provides almost immediate benefit to us all

2024-12-09 14:52:43

Stefan Sommer

senorverano@fnordon.de

@stefan Most convincing was an experience on a train ride with bad internet connection: messages came through well, but images all showed up blurred. Very annoying not to know anything at all about what the images were supposed to show.

2024-12-09 14:53:22

серафими многоꙮчитїи

djm62@beige.party

@stefan missing option - I know people on here who use alt text to understand images. The principle is important, but honestly it's more thinking of the individual people who would be rightly pissed off

2024-12-09 15:00:38

Log 🪵

log@mastodon.sdf.org

@stefan Persons with visual impairments expressing appreciation for those who take time to add alt text, even when it is of no benefit to themselves.

Personally, my native visual capacity comes from cup-shaped mushrooms with a light-sensitive membrane in the cap. Which is not great, compared to animal eyes, but it gives me great empathy for humans who can't just grow new eyes whenever the old ones stop working.

2024-12-09 15:01:48

Ilona

anotherdream@mementomori.social

@stefan Already knew about it from way, way back, when I learned HTML in the days of dial-up, and not being able to load images was business as usual. ? What made me use it on social media? Realizing it's the same for many people as captions on video are for me, that is, absolutely necessary for understanding. I can't expect accessibility for me if I'm not willing to offer it to others.

2024-12-09 15:04:38

🇺🇸 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 🐧 🥦

Methylcobalamin@mastodon.social

@stefan I became aware of 508 issues through work. I saw that alt text was a thing talked about on Mastodon and started doing it. I feel guilty when I don't write alt text so if I am not in the mood I just don't post images to Mastodon. That usually happens with infographics and visual humor where I would have to write a lot to make the image worthwhile.

2024-12-09 15:06:25

Nora Reed :kiln:

nora@blob.love

@stefan for me it was a combination of social pressures and having my account get big enough that i actually knew that there were blind people following me

2024-12-09 15:25:16

Traiken

Traiken@mastodon.social

@stefan I have a lot of muted words to try to avoid a very triggering topic, and if an image has alt text, it gets muted, too. So in addition to everything else, I’m extending that same courtesy to others who are avoiding things for their own mental health.

I also find it a really useful writing exercise, and it makes me slow down and think about what I’m trying to communicate with the image. I also did alt text for Looptober; describing music was a real interesting challenge.

2024-12-09 15:25:53

dr2chase

dr2chase@ohai.social

@stefan another, missing reason -- Mastodon made it easier to do, gave us edit buttons so I could add it afterwards when I forgot, and made other people's alt text visible so I could see what was good alt text (or not). Twitter for some bizarre reason didn't do any of those things.

"If you want something to happen, make it easy."

2024-12-09 15:34:56

Kevin

kevin@dice.camp

@stefan There's a fedi bot that helped me remember to do it by nagging people that post without them.

2024-12-09 16:17:48

Workshopshed

Workshopshed@mastodon.scot

@stefan SEO ?

2024-12-09 16:20:04

Kibrika

kibrika@toot.lv

@stefan My "other" is seeing posts "alt teksts are fedi culture, here are tips how to write them" and seeing posts from people who say they are visually impaired and really appreciate them.
I hardly post any images though. But I love reading the alt descriptions of the images I see in my timeline.

2024-12-09 16:22:26

Urzl

gooba42@mastodon.social

@stefan My mastodon client complains if I don't. Mentally it's easier to fill out the alt text than to intentionally skip it. I'd rather do it right than wrong but still need the reminder/nudge.

It's not so much that I didn't think it was worthwhile but that it wasn't top of mind and once I hit "post" or "share", I stop actively thinking about it myself and never think to go back again.

2024-12-09 16:26:43

Coach Leftist Dew

springdiesel@leftist.network

@stefan

Something else = the #alt4u hashtag and the bot account you can follow if you would like to be nagged by a bot

2024-12-09 16:37:31

Anne Ominous

rustoleumlove@mastodon.online

@stefan if you are a conscious person with all of their abilities, IMO, it only takes a short amount of time with a 'differently abled' person to understand the absolutely critical nature of accessibility for all

2024-12-09 16:43:31

William Pietri

williampietri@sfba.social

@stefan For me it's when people who need it talk about how it helps them and what works best for them. I have low interest in arbitrary rules and negative interest in scolding. But I'm happy to help my virtual neighbors.

2024-12-09 16:46:04

Ángela Stella Matutina

angelastella@social.treehouse.systems

@stefan

Coming from the culture of printed books which had a descriptive caption for every image.

2024-12-09 17:12:56

Ysegrim

ysegrim@furry.engineer

@stefan plus: Seeing how much alt text helped me

2024-12-09 17:18:10

Mina

mina@berlin.social

@stefan

I already learned on Twitter, years ago, that adding descriptions was the proper way to post images.

2024-12-09 17:27:20

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)

stepheneb@ruby.social

@stefan

Inspired by someone who wrote the most wonderful alt-text!

2024-12-09 17:32:38

#BlindAltBot

anantagd@ieji.de

@stefan Can I say, as a #blind person, that I find your use of the verb "nag" repugnant.

2024-12-09 17:58:36

d.rift

feonixrift@x0r.be

@stefan
- using it myself when I can access it
- people explaining the many ways it helps them
- it being a social norm among my friends

2024-12-09 17:58:44

Scott Wright 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

jswright61@ruby.social

@stefan I am a sighted person. I love alt text. I can often get the point of an image when that point visually eludes me.@sam

2024-12-09 17:59:17

Alan is @cogdog 🇨🇦

cogdog@cosocial.ca

@stefan Assistance from following @alt_text

2024-12-09 18:05:15

queer as in fuck your borders

bright_helpings@mspsocial.net

@stefan I started it because I benefit from image descriptions myself.

2024-12-09 18:08:37

Mr. Bill

bmacDonald94@hostux.social

@stefan ~ In my case: progressive blindness took the question home. I also like to be considerate.

2024-12-09 18:22:16

GeePawHill

GeePawHill@mastodon.social

@stefan My something else detail: needing it myself to read text that was phone-capped.

2024-12-09 18:39:43

Edwardo Lobo

fenris23@eldritch.cafe

@stefan

It got easier to do here.

2024-12-09 18:43:53

Kierkethumbs up convincingly

Kierkegaanks@beige.party

@stefan Threats from strangers

2024-12-09 18:48:31

peachfront

peachfront@toot.community

@stefan

back in the day, there were so many online services that were slow-loading & people would never see your images but they could see the bit of alt-text telling you what the bit of image was supposed to be so i'd make up alt text as a matter of course

so i used to do it all the time in the way back...

later i found several good reasons to keep using alt text including accessibility, keywording, putting in jokes that were too hard to put into 500 characters etc.

2024-12-09 18:49:25

PhDog

dogfox@kpop.social

Seeing others do it and having it be really funny/evocative.

@stefan

2024-12-09 18:49:57

Claus C. Schoenleber

claus_schoenleber@mstdn.business

@stefan the need of people.

2024-12-09 18:50:32

Kagan MacTane (he/him)

kagan@wandering.shop

@stefan In my case, "something else" means "caring about other people". It just seems like that's not such a hard thing to do?

2024-12-09 18:54:45

Yes I'm Antifa. Why Aren't U?

MugsysRapSheet@mastodon.social

Just another pic of Trump looking like an idiot.

@stefan
I use the "Alt-Text" feature to add additional content/information when I run out of characters.

Posts (for me) are limited to just 500 characters. But I can add *1,500* additional characters via Alt Text.

2024-12-09 19:56:16

Jupiter Rowland

jupiter_rowland@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Stefan Bohacek I don't quite recall because it was so long ago. It must have been Mastodon users talking about it.

But I can pinpoint what exactly got me to stop keeping it at short visual descriptions in alt-text and instead start writing these extensive, highly detailed, highly explanatory monsters that don't fit into alt-text anywhere anymore.

#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #AltText #AltTextMeta #CWAltTextMeta #ImageDescription #ImageDescriptions #ImageDescriptionMeta #CWImageDescriptionMeta

2024-12-09 20:02:01

cpm

cpm@spore.social

@stefan
mid-90s

I was a sysadmin at a new isp, just turned up, had web authors on staff

walking by the back door

someone banging on it

I let them in

they 'wanted a word' with the web-author's shop

2024-12-09 20:27:59

[Yaseenist] CauseOfBSOD

CauseOfBSOD@wetdry.world

@stefan because i want blind people to suffer equally from the very occasional caustic shitposts i create

2024-12-09 20:36:11

Rachel Greenham

StrangeNoises@mastodon.social

@stefan @benroyce seeing others talk about it but I can’t stress enough how much it matters that I could set a pref in the client to prompt (nag) me to actually do it. I would absolutely forget most of the time without it.

2024-12-09 20:39:45

Tyrion

TyrionTargaryen@social.vivaldi.net

@stefan

Aside from accessibility, I find alt text very useful for understanding what an image/gif/video is meant to convey (especially reactions/memes), since it's not always clear at first glance.

Likewise, when I post reaction gifs, I do my best to describe the important parts of it visually, and what I mean by it.

2024-12-09 20:50:27

anthropomorphic blast radius

motiondetected@mastodon.social

@stefan I'm kinda new to this and it was actually a post from somebody in this thread that prompted me to set my desktop application to require Alt Text before I can post. Providing Alt Text is helpful to others and is also a nice benefit that gets me to think about, and appreciate, the photograph even more ☺️

2024-12-09 20:54:32

Ena

Ena_Rayner@mastodon.social

@stefan Reading decades of XKCD

2024-12-09 21:06:56

Vicente ⁂

vgarzareyna@mstdn.mx

@stefan it just felt like part of the culture in my first social circles on the fediverse

2024-12-09 21:17:50

Enerhpozyks

enerhpozyks@eldritch.cafe

@stefan Also : an UI that help.
On masto I never forget because there is an orange warning sign and an OCR that help rewrite when the image is text (photo of news article, meme with written comment, etc.)

2024-12-09 21:22:41

Luna Lactea

jackemled@furry.engineer

@stefan "I need it" would have been another good option to include in this!

2024-12-09 21:42:31

RinostarGames

RinostarGames@mastodon.gamedev.place

@stefan Read a post for new Mastodon users where using alt text was one of the things mentioned. It seemed like a good idea and the right thing to do.

2024-12-09 21:54:49

Mark Wollschlager

markwoll@universeodon.com

@stefan It's part of the culture. If it's a culture you want to be part of.

2024-12-09 22:20:39

Atemu

Atemu@darmstadt.social

@stefan

Something else: The platform encouraged it through a UI warnig when no alt text is added yet.

2024-12-09 22:29:56

Matcha ?

Matchacatta@bark.lgbt

@stefan I do it because I'm disabled myself :3

Though I often still forget to do it, I'm trying to get better. Thanks for a reminder in the form of this poll!

2024-12-10 00:09:46

John-Mark Gurney

encthenet@flyovercountry.social

@stefan

Does using the Internet back in the 90s over dialup and also knowing people who use text only browsers count?

#AltText #accessibility #ImageDescription

2024-12-10 01:02:43

AMS

AMS@infosec.exchange

@stefan Gennerally having it possible in app. I block and report accounts that nag.

2024-12-10 02:19:01

PorkrollPosadist

porkroll@toots.matapacos.dog

@stefan I started doing it because it was the norm here. In part because of the nagging, in part because it is a nice thing to do, in part because if I can't be bothered to write an alt text, the post is itself is probably too frivolous.

I was completely sold when I learned Mastodon's translate function also translates the alt text, translating memes without doing OCR or anything fancy. You don't even need to have impaired vision for alt text to be useful!

2024-12-10 04:38:37

Pepperly

Pepperly@mastodon.art

@stefan

A pile of things: seeing others talk about it, causing me to learn about it, and the very small but reasonable 'threat' of "I won't boost this without alt text". It adds up. I try to be good, even though I'm not sure I do a good job of it. ?

2024-12-10 08:13:37

Alien software, human hardware

mavu@mastodon.social

@stefan i dont know in which category #NoAltTextNoBoost falls, but i think that makes a lot of sense.