Andrew GillardAug 28, 2018
read-only account (Rain 🚱)

Hey people, I've been noticing the number of posts with alt text going down. It might be because of all the new users who haven't learned about the feature yet, so for them and everyone:

yall should use alt text when uploading images! what are they??? hover over the images to find out! why are they good? the tldr of it is that visually impaired computer users exist and it helps them navigate the INFOBAHN better

Aug 21, 2018 at 5:27amWeb
Show threadread-only account (Rain 🚱)Aug 21, 2018
oh also, re: alt text
it's a lesser known accessibility booster, but if you write your tags #LikeThis instead of #likethis then the screen reader software that visually impaired users use can recognize where word boundaries are and won't say "likethis" as one jumbled word but will instead say "like this"
Show threadWeenAug 21, 2018
@grainloom I didn't know either of these things, thanks for letting me know! I'll be putting both of these hot strats to good use
Show threadread-only account (Rain 🚱)Aug 21, 2018
@Ween  
i only learned about the tagging thing from @gingerrroot , so I really wish these were more easily found when signing up
Show threadBinarySchminaryAug 21, 2018
@grainloom thank you, this is so good to know. I generally write it #LikeThat because I have OCD but sometimes I’m too lazy - but now I’ll make a point of it. Thanks.
Show threadbarrycusAug 22, 2018
@grainloom Cool thanks for the heads up
Show threadsquid squid squid squid squidAug 21, 2018
@grainloom and if you follow @alt_text it will remind you to use it everytime you dont
Show threadread-only account (Rain 🚱)Aug 21, 2018
@squid oh hecc I had no idea that existed!
Show threadThe Political Bent ✅Aug 21, 2018
@grainloom I don’t know if that works in this Mastodon client Tootdon. I don’t see anything but the image. I can’t hover on mobile. Is that desktop only?
Show threadread-only account (Rain 🚱)Aug 21, 2018
@Polibent some mobile clients implement it but I don't know which ones, since I only use the "vanilla" interface and Brutaldon
Show threadEricAug 28, 2018
@grainloom Have been searching for it, but this functionality seems absent in Tusky.
Show threadread-only account (Rain 🚱)Aug 28, 2018
@eric Yes, for some reason not all apps implement it. I only use the web client and Brutaldon so I don't know the app landscape.
Show threadDownes 🍁Aug 28, 2018
@grainloom This is a test to look for the 'alt text' option - I found it but it is *very* difficult to find (default desktop Mastodon client). You have to hover over the image after it uploads, and the field is hidden by the grey shading at the bottom of the image. Better UI would go a long way toward addressing this. #ItsNotAlwaysTheUsersFault
Show threadACCOUNT MOVEDAug 28, 2018

@grainloom @aral I wager quite a few of us are also (mostly) on mobile and probably using native apps. I’m on Tootdon and don’t love it, but I haven’t seen much in the way of alt text options for photos in any apps I’ve tried. 😕

Not sure what to do besides but the devs to add it. But most Mastodon iOS apps I’ve seen are free, without even IAPs, so I don’t have a lot of faith at the moment. 😔

Show threadEngal.Aug 28, 2018
@grainloom thanks for letting me know about this!
Show threadBaxterAug 28, 2018
@grainloom That's so cool that they have that included as a feature!
Show threadMatt PetereinAug 29, 2018
@grainloom it's just not really readable on mobile. At least I haven't figured it out yet