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I love when folks posting photos include #alttext. I love it even more when they go a little extra and include descriptions beyond a bare minimum—scenic view from one mountain to another—and I hate to be a nag but I’d love it even more if folks included even a few details, like location, directional orientation, maybe even a bit about the circumstances. I like to try and do this—with spotty consistency I’m afraid—especially with my #silentSunday posts.
@qurlyjoe There are lots of guidelines as to the best way to do it. This might interest you:
"Alt text should be specific and not overly descriptive."
https://design102.blog.gov.uk/2022/01/14/whats-the-alternative-how-to-write-good-alt-text/
@garry
"Alt text should be specific and not overly descriptive."
May be true for government purposes, maybe not so much here. Context is important.
@qurlyjoe I mentioned it because I took part in a couple of discussions where partially sighted people gave their opinion, and they asked us to keep it just to what is in the photo. But we're all different.
Alt-text must never include exclusive information that is neither in the post text nor in the image itself. Such information must always go into the post itself. If you don't have room in the post, add it to a reply or multiple.
That's because not everybody can access alt-text. Certain physical disabilities can make accessing alt-text impossible, for example, if someone can't use their hands. Money quote from way down this comment thread:
Deborah wrote the following post Mon, 10 Jul 2023 23:30:45 +0200 @jupiter_rowland
I have a disability that prevents me from seeing alt text, because on almost all platforms, seeing the alt requires having a screenreader or working hands. If you post a picture, is there info that you want somebody who CAN see the picture but DOESN’T have working hands to know? Write that in visible text. If you put that in the alt, you are explicitly excluding people like me.
But you don’t have to overthink it. The description of the image itself is a simple concept.
#Long #LongPost #CWLong #CWLongPost #FediMeta #FediverseMeta #CWFediMeta #CWFediverseMeta #Fediverse #AltText #AltTextMeta #CWAltTextMeta #ImageDescription #ImageDescriptions #ImageDescriptionMeta #CWImageDescriptionMeta #Inclusion #A11y #Accessibility #QuotePost #QuoteTweet #QuoteToot #QuoteBoost
@jupiter_rowland This it's important, thanks! And it's certainly something that hadn't occurred to me. Sometimes I've added something to the Alt Text that follows on from something else that's there, especially when there aren't enough available characters to put it in the main text. IMO, all microblogging sites should allow 500 characters. Threading can help but can also obstruct the flow of the message.