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2025-01-29 18:15:10

ellie@ellieayla.net

@gwenthekween describe it please, especially with the significance of the original. Don't assume the reader knows what your clowns mean. Is it about the appearance of increasing ridiculousness? Is it about a sunk cost fallacy getting worse, and makeup removal being harder every time someone doesn't stop? Is it about someone practicing their craft until they're really good at it? I don't know.

2025-01-29 19:24:15

Shiri Bailem

shiri@foggyminds.com

@Ellie @Gwen, the kween :neofox_flag_transbian: :sheher: Given the prevalence of memes used again and again, I'm wondering about the potential overload of it... having alt-text repeatedly describing a meme over and over and over again for minor changes in context?

Maybe there should be a format expectation? I presume alt-text can be interrupted, so maybe something like "Exploding Head meme with the text ... Meme format description: ..." so that those using screen readers can get the short context when they're familiar with the meme format but still get the description if they need it without having to listen to long descriptions of the same meme for the 100th time?

Also makes me think there could be use in an alt-text library tool for memes to make it easier for people to fill in full descriptions (or for screenreader users to get a quick lookup when it's not already provided)

2025-01-29 20:03:43

Gwen, the Fops :neofox_pleading: :itits:

gwenthekween@kitsunes.club

@shiri@foggyminds.com @ellie@ellieayla.net Yeah, I was worried that people would do the hearing equivalent of "eyes glazing over" because they already know the meme, and miss out on the actual joke. It sounds to me like adding the description later could be reasonable, but I'm not a use of screen readers, so I'll defer to them for an answer.

And considering both people who replied to me and didn't start with "I'm sighted but" said to describe everything, that is absolutely what I'll be doing from now on

2025-01-29 20:30:43

Shiri Bailem

shiri@foggyminds.com

@Gwen, the kween fops :neofox_flag_trans: :sheher: @Ellie yeah, I figured since someone was willing to comment on it I would reply specifically to them with the follow up question because obviously they're at least partially open to providing community feedback. If I don't get an answer I might just make a separate post requesting comments.

2025-01-29 21:21:48

Jupiter Rowland

jupiter_rowland@hub.netzgemeinde.eu

@Shiri Bailem @Gwen, the kween fops :neofox_flag_trans: :sheher: @Ellie That's my suggestion, too: Always describe the meme image as far as necessary. You may repeat yourself, but there may always be someone who is not familiar with that meme template.

What I'm not entirely sure about is how to explain memes, if at all. I mean, if you describe the image in the alt-text, should you also explain it in the post itself, especially if you've got lots of characters to use up? Particularly if your adaptation touches an extremely niche topic that most people won't understand without enough explanation (the Fediverse beyond Mastodon, super-obscure 3-D virtual worlds etc.)?

Should you give explanations for the template? For your adaptation and the topic? For both? Not at all?

Should the template be explained alone or with extra explanations for concepts included in the template (image macro, advice animal, snowclone, reaction image, 4chan, Something Awful...)?

If you can link to external explanations, is it better to do that? Or are external links too inconvenient, and it's better to write all explanations yourself?

Just so you know what can happen when you go all the way: The first time I made a Fediverse meme post for my new meme channel on (streams), I went for what I took for maximum reader convenience. I ended up with one explanation for my adaptation, one for the template, five to explain the template explanations and the template explanation explanations, one for the topic and one to explain the topic explanation. All just so that nobody in the Fediverse would have to look anything up.

I mean, not everyone is familiar with the "One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor" template, and next to nobody knows what FEP-ef61 is, right?

But I ended up with some 25,000 characters worth of explanations. And I thought that can't possibly be that more convenient than external links.

Currently, it seems to me like people would love to have explanations for everything readily available in each meme post, but if you tell them how long these explanations will end up, they'll nope out and prefer links all of a sudden.

If my assumptions should be wrong, feel free to tell me.

Anyway, you may look around my meme channel and check the alt-texts and see if the posts are explained and the images are described sufficiently.

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