When you're posting hashtags that contain multiple words, it's a good idea to capitalise the first letter of each word. This helps blind people who use screen reader software to know what the hashtag actually says.
For example #DogsOfMastodon is much easier for screen reader users than #dogsofmastodon, even though they're technically the same tag.
This kind of capitalisation is usually known as "CamelCase". CamelCase doesn't just help blind people, it also makes hashtags clearer for sighted people too!
Using CamelCase won't affect your post's visibility (because searches ignore capitalisation) but it will improve the post's accessibility, so you'll get more people reading it.
Thank you to @martyn for raising this topic 👍
@feditips thanks, very helpful to know
@feditips i think camel case looksLikeThis instead
@powersource @feditips yup! ThisIsPascalCase!
I think "PascalCase" vs "camelCase" is if you're discussing programming?
This is post is aimed at non-programmers, and CamelCase is perhaps easiest to remember and understand 🐫 😁
If you say camelCase it isn't obvious that each word has to be capitalised. CamelCase makes it obvious.
If you say PascalCase no one knows what Pascal means, and it's harder to remember what the term was called.
Apologies to programmers out there who are upset by this standard-breaking approach 
@powersource @feditips @minekpo1 I feel like camelCase should really be dromedaryCase?
@powersource @feditips @minekpo1 caterpillarCase? :)
@feditips @minekpo1 @powersource Honestly, calling it camelCase confused me as a programmer and there a lot of other programmers around. Careful, or you'll end up with python people like myself #using_underscores.
@vwbusguy @feditips @powersource yeah I hope no one starts using SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE
@minekpo1 @vwbusguy @feditips @powersource
Screaming is a constant. 😋
@vwbusguy @feditips @minekpo1 @powersource to be fair it's more like dromedaryCase (;
@vwbusguy @feditips @minekpo1 @powersource camelCase will also be fine for screen readers though, because it still signals the word boundaries.
@feditips @minekpo1 @powersource I've generally heard this called TitleCase, which maybe isn't exactly right, but is at least more accessible than PascalCase and doesn't overload an already similarly defined word like camelCase.
@feditips You know what, I started reading the replies expecting to find well-actually-it's-pascal-case and I'm disappointed that I was not disappointed 
@feditips @minekpo1 @powersource
as a computer person (who is not a programmer) whos been calling that CamelCase my whole life I am surprised that its technically not what its called!
@liaizon Wikipedia is apparently a bit torn on it! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_case
@liaizon @feditips @minekpo1 @powersource it's quite pedantic unless you're clarifying between specific subtypes, and even people who know the difference will use camel case in either case commonly. I think it's akin to plaid and tartan.
so when we keep using constantly capitalized first lettern in Hastags, will the #CamelCase-Version be suggested more to others in the #Fediverse?
@sieben_grafik I don't know on that, I just try to do my bit to make the community a nice place. I'm not involved in the mastodon code at all, despite what my notifications are trying to tell me since replying to that high-profile account!
@martyn was not just talking to you, was just wandering on #LinkedIn / #Instagram accounts who want to share more accessible content also gave attention to this and I thought over there that the plattform owners should work on that aswell, but here in the #Fediverse / #ActivityPup it works different of course
@martyn oh and much apriciated, instance by instance a nicer place :)
I think the suggestions are based on the case used the first time that hashtag was posted.
But fortunately the suggestions now do not alter the case you typed in.
If you type a tag in CamelCase, it will remain in CamelCase.
if I start typing a 
@sieben_grafik @feditips @martyn it tends to be a client side thing. Not server side. I remember us adjusting it on a server I was own.
We don't save how it's capitalized yet, but I'm looking to see if we can improve this and a few other things soon.
/mal
@feditips @martyn I'm pro-CamelCase (or whatever it's being called), but it's worth noting that the stock Mastodon web client tends to auto-complete hashtags into the all-lowercase form if you use the drop-down menu feature thingy.
I don't know if it always prefers lowercase, or if it just uses the most popular form of that particular hashtag, or what... but I think it signals to users that the auto-completed form is the "correct" one when perhaps it's not always preferable.
@kadin@mastodon.sdf.org @feditips@mstdn.social @martyn@toot.martyn.berlin
that's pascal-case,
camel-case doesn't start with a capital letter.
camel-case -> doctorWho
pascal-case -> DoctorWho
👍
@feditips@mstdn.social @kadin@mastodon.sdf.org @martyn@toot.martyn.berlin
I'm not so upset as a programmer as i am just in general as a person who likes information.
"pro-CamelCase (or whatever it's being called)"
I saw the confusion and i cleared it up.
@Finner @martyn well the principle of title case applies …. I can’t help it if #HashtaggedPhrasesCannotHaveSpaces
@feditips@mstdn.social @martyn@toot.martyn.berlin A tiny nitpick: what you mentioned is Pascal Case, not Camel Case.
Pascal case example: #DogsOfFediverse
Camel case example: #dogsOfFediverse
Notice how camel case has the first word lowercase.
Indeed! But please see here:
@feditips@mstdn.social @martyn@toot.martyn.berlin I feel like if anything, this just makes things more confusing for everyone, camel case isn't only a thing in programming.
As far as I know, CamelCase is the most widely accepted term in accessibility?
For example https://www.succeedwithdyslexia.org/blog/how-to-make-hashtags-accessible-with-camelcase
Is there a better, clearer, more memorable term for this?
@feditips@mstdn.social @martyn@toot.martyn.berlin BactrianCase works, as what camelCase is named after is Dromedary camels, which is why it's sometimes called dromedaryCase. Bactrian camels have 2 big humps while Dromedary camels (the kind you think of when you think "camel") have one small and one big hump.
Pic 1 is a Bactrian camel, pic 2 is a Dromedary camel.
To be honest, it's probably moot whatever we decide, as the phrase "CamelCase" has already become the standard when talking about accessibility in text.
My favorite example where CamelCase would have helped was #susanalbumparty
@feditips may also reduce the obviousness of such misfortunes as "susanalbumparty" and "pokemonmastersex". but then again maybe just word hashtags better because someone's gonna type in lowercase
@feditips Personally i'm mainly using #lowerCamelCase
A general-purpose Mastodon server with a 1000 character limit.
@feditips @martyn I only use hashtags ironically so writing them using lower case letters is part of the point.