Hey, you! Yes, you, spending an extra minute or two adding alt text to your image. I see you!
Don't have the time/spoons? No sweat, use the "alt4me" hashtag. Someone will help you out!
"But it takes more than two minutes to..."
Listen, just see how much you can write in 45 seconds. Better than nothing. Or use the "Alt4Me" hashtag.
@alttexthalloffame@mastodon.social it takes more than two minutes but i enjoy every second of it. not only is it accessibility yay but it's also just. nice to write it sometimes. just lets me express myself (depending on what i'm alt texting of course). it's not inconvenient or anything
@alttexthalloffame : speaking of, has anyone noticed lately that sometimes (not always), when adding ALT text to an image, you get an error pop-up (Mastodon browser version) ? It's been happening a few times to me in the past few weeks, and what usually happens is that I have to post the toot THEN edit the ALT text as soon as possible for it to work. It's the weirdest thing.
@ladyteruki Odd, can't say I've seen this myself, sorry.
Is this happening in a specific browser?
The mastodon.social server often runs in-development versions of Mastodon, so maybe that could also have something to do with it.
@alttexthalloffame Do we think maybe ALT text should also convey the meaning of a gif or meme rather than just explain what's happening in it? I don't believe saying what movie the gif came from or the year it was released helps a visually impaired person understand the purpose of the meme any better, but explaining the feeling one gets when watching the gif would.
"As the bearded man holds his focus on the camera and nods, he shares a feeling of muted approval for the statement being made."
@varpness Great question, and I like your description!
However, explanations in alt-text are a big no-no. Not everyone can access alt-text, and those who can't access alt-text can't access explanations exclusively available in alt-text either. So explanations have to go into the post itself.
This, in turn, is likely to clash with character limits. I could do it, I don't have any character limit. But most Mastodon users only have 500 characters at their disposal, minus the actual post text, minus hashtags, minus content warning, minus mentions if any. And even the 1,500 characters available in each alt-text wouldn't necessarily be necessarily sufficient for this level of detail, were they "allowed" to be used for explanations.
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@varpness @alttexthalloffame I generally like to see the emotions behind alt text, yes! My only tripping point is, what if I have a different emotional interpretation? (1/2)
And I don't understand what works and what doesn't very well with regards to that line because I'll encounter Alt text that's very, very specific about wht it means and go, "Oh, that's well written," and then I'll find another written in the same way and go, "Stop telling me what to think!" So I'd just say write it how you feel it and let people decide from there because more feeling is always better. (2/2)
I agree, we all interpret things differently, so while a gif like the bearded Zach Galifianakis might be mostly understood as "approving" there may be other gifs less clear.
We can only expect people to do their best in good faith and understand there will be some differences in opinion and as long as we're trying that's the most anyone can hope for.
@varpness @FrostPoem Ha, common mistake, that's actually Robert Redford!
Oh my gosh! That's crazy! I would have bet my life savings on it being Zach!!!
If we can't even distinguish real people, is there any hope for the AI-riddled future?
I READ the original ALT text, commented about how the date of the movie (1972) probably wasn't that useful, and STILL didn't put two-and-two together that this couldn't possibly be #galifianakis
Faerie @Matthew Varpness @Alt Text Hall of Fame What if there are no emotions? What if an image post, the image included, is purely informational?And yes, this happens. I do it all the time, as rare as my image posts are.
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@jupiter_rowland @alttexthalloffame Then obviously a direct description of the image would be ideal. My point was that in the case of memes or gifs, an alt text which shares the intent of the gif would be helpful to include as a simple explanation of something might not always be effective. It's similar to when someone is telling a story and realizes the audience isn't really getting the full effect so they say "I guess you had to be there." Explaining emotion can help a blind person "be there".
I'd mention the meme template used. Then I'd explain it.
If it's a snowclone, I'd explain what a snowclone is. If it's an advice animal, I'd explain what an advice animal is. If it uses Wojaks, I'd explain them. And so forth.
Wherever it originated, I'd explain that place as well because I can't expect it to be common knowledge.
Afterwards, I'd explain the source material and how and why it was adapted for that particular meme template.
The idea behind this effort is for nobody to have to Google or ask me anything or read up on stuff outside the post to be able to understand any meme image I post, no matter how far their prior knowledge may or may not go.
Once I've got the basics down, I'd explain how that meme template carries the message it's supposed to carry.
I'm not quite sure if I'd give the visual description first, then the text transcripts, then the explanations or rather the explanations first, then the visual description, then the text transcripts.
That is, either way, I myself would only give a visual description plus text transcripts in alt-text, and I'd put the long, detailed variant into the post text body. Again, no text limit for posts here.
I think I actually have to post a meme and describe it the way I envision it so that people really see what I mean.
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