Please consider writing your hashtags in upper camelcase so screen readers have a chance at figuring them out.
#whyistayonmastodon sounds like an giant undecipherable mess of sounds.
#WhyIStayOnMastodon reads out "Why I Stay On Mastodon" 😄
(Reason #44 I stay here: my previous requests like this have been generally well-received, proving that most people are awesome.)
@mike Nice! As in many cases, it turns out that doing better accessibility work makes the thing more accessible to everyone, not just the original target audience. 😃
@nipos
I've opened a bug for you:
https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/issues/262
@jond ah, this makes sense! I'll keep it in mind for next time, thank you
@jond in addition, it's also much easier to read for everybody: https://icosahedron.website/@bvtsang/100493797028995022
@jond
I'll never write in camel case of my own volition. GAWD camel is horrid.
@notclacke So I've heard. *sigh* Seems like such a bad design decision. :/
@jond @notclacke
Looks like it is actively being worked on:
@jond cool sugestion. i also think the screen readers could figure 95% of these out. if you've got some proper names or places or what not it gets dicey but honestly it'd be a problem i wouldn't be afraid to put in front of fresh-out-of-college potential new-hires during an interview. still down, and it is easier for humans to parse too, but demand more from your software too.
@jond what's a screen reader?
@Efi software that reads what's on the screen for e.g. blind people.
@jond I did not know that. Thanks for the tip!
@jond Yes! I saw a request of this some months ago, and have adapted it since! It' sjust one of those things one may not think of if you don't use screen readers.
So thank you for sharing :>
@jond I did not know that! I'll start doing that. (it's also easier to read anyway)
@jond Also it's easier to read and will save you from #thispenisatool and #ThisPenIsATool
@jond i call it PascalCase
https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/merge_requests/262
#WhyIStayOnMastodon - because I can patch things your self :)
#PlermaSoonMayStopLowercasingHashtags
Update:
https://git.pleroma.social/pleroma/pleroma/merge_requests/262
has been merged into #Pleroma "develop" branch of development yesterday, I'd expect many instances to start upgrading.
Contains mildly rude words, and a reference to Susan Boyle
@jond This! The classic example of the genre being #susanalbumparty where what was meant was #SusanAlbumParty but it got misread as #Su'sAnalBumParty ;)
*Note to non-UK readers: Susan Boyle is a minor celebrity singer following her appearance on a TV talent show. Also. bum is slang for bottom here.
@jond
Using camelCase also helps many Dyslexics compared to "alphabet soup". Does it help you to have a capital letter as first letter?
@Wifi_cable lowerCamelCase works identically to UpperCamelCase in NVDA (my reader of choice), so either is fine for me. I'm not sure from whom I picked up the rule to prefer one over the other... or if the conditions that spawned that are even still a concern.
@jond Everyone has preferences in choosing and spelling variable names, method names or hashtag names. (I was not sure if lower vs upper camel case had an impact on screen readers)
@jond Took me a while to figure out the tag wasn't "why is tay on maston"
@jond It's also helpful to humans! I read that hashtag as Why Is Tay On Mastodon, which is an interesting but different question.
@jond and it seems like Mastodon hash tags are case-insensitive, so this is a win for everyone 😊
@jond I always try to do this, however the UI is a bit frustrating in that it autocompletes an existing lowercase hashtag and insists on replacing it, I have to hit escape to get out of it. :smile:
@jond @jonkulp Honestly I don't mind a bit if Tay is on Mastodon; as far. As I'm concerned everyone is welcome. #ButWhoIsTay
@jond But why *is* Tay on Mastodon?
@marxjohnson @jond Just LEAVE TAY ALONE! ;((
#jesuistay
@jond why not #whyMastodon instead of #WhyiStayOnMastodon?
Often people don't think about how to write their texts readable and concise.
@jond
It's more readable for normal humans too
@jond Thanks for that advice! I never thought, that screenreaders work with that part of a message! 👍 😮
@jond Why Is Tay On Mastodon anyway?
@jond it is better readable that way for all :)
@jond
I wondered who "tay" is and why it's a hashtag to discuss why tay is on Mastodon. 😁
@jond @ParadeGrotesque And also because even without a screen reader that’s unreadable.
@jond literally read it as trying to ascertain why either the chocolate rain guy or the Microsoft racism bot was here
@robotcarsley @jond to be fair to Microsoft, they didn't make a racism bot, they were just naive enough to think that people wouldn't target the AI to say bad shit. it's not impossible that they might look at mastodon as a place that's not going to make the bot into a nazi again
@CornishRepublicanArmy @jond coward. I will never be fair to microsoft
@jond Exactly the point... I thought you were asking why someone named "Tay" is on Masto 😬
@jond I first read that as "Why is Tay on Mastodon" and I was like, woah, they put Tay on Mastodon?
I think this proves your point even more.
Also, Tay on Mastodon would be hilarious.
Server run by the main developers of the project 
It is not focused on any particular niche interest - everyone is welcome as long as you follow our code of conduct!
@jond I had no idea what that hash tag was supposed to say until you posted this. Thanks for that!