Johanna KalbNov 6, 2022
BLUR
One thing that was super common on Mastodon / Fediverse prior to this mass migration was adding image descriptions to help be accessible to our many blind and partially sighted users here. Many people won't boost posts without them.
Please consider adding alt text to your images when you can. 
Nov 5, 2022 at 1:47pmWeb
Show threadKaossNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur so thats what that feature is! Thought that was cool just because my phone refuses to load images sometimes. I like the consideration.
Show threadBLURNov 5, 2022
@KaossTheFox Yeah, it's definitely also useful for slow connections / servers too sometimes! XD
Show threadR. K. NinerNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur I like the part where the website actually warns me if I haven't added the alt text yet.
Show threadAlbert ARIBAUD ✎Nov 5, 2022
@rkniner @BlurTheFur And in case it does not, then you can follow this bot so that it messages you if your toots miss media descriptions: @PleaseCaption
Show threadCouscousNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur
and dont forget the brand new bot to help you remember @alttxtreminder   
Show threadLuannaNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur how do you suppose one describes their art in this case? I guess I don't think about it since I'm a bit lacking in self confidence to describe other than "rough sketch of [subject]"
Show thread Noma Nov 5, 2022
@KaffeineKaiju @BlurTheFur A good rule of thumb is providing a general description of what's happening on the picture, for certain shots, detailing points of interest so we can easily understand what's in the pic, or people with sight issues can appreciate the composition still!
Show threadKaren E. Lund 💙💛Nov 10, 2022
@KaffeineKaiju @BlurTheFur If you are describing your own art, be objective--by which I mean a straightforward description. "Rough sketch of..." is probably good. Is it black and white or, if not, mention dominant colors. Details of foreground or background. That kind of thing.
Show threadNina RuzickaNov 10, 2022
@KaffeineKaiju @BlurTheFur
You're like a playwright. No-one can see the stage you built in your head, so you have to describe it in such a way, that the essence of what is important to you is transferred correctly.
Show threadAntone JohnsonNov 5, 2022

@BlurTheFur as a newcomer from the bird site, one of the first things that struck me was that visible reminder to add alt text when posting an image. Brilliant! The UI makes it easy to add in seconds.

I know it’s always been best practice to include alt text, but often simply forget to do it on other sites. I wish they all would do something similar.

Show threadtommyNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur additionally image descriptions are also useful for others who just don't get it or need some context.
Show threadKüünNov 6, 2022
@tommy @BlurTheFur 'number of boosts' is irrelevant, it's just a normal thing to do anyway ❤
Show threadFlaugaardNov 5, 2022
@BlurTheFur it’s really easy adding an alt text!
Show threadJess Torley (Wilson) [she/her]Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur Is it possible to add it to one's profile and banner? I couldn't work out how.
Show threadBLURNov 6, 2022
@shakespearenut I've been seeing some people just add it to the profile description instead. I don't think it's currently possible to add alt-text directly to the profile image or banner, unfortunately.
Show threadKaren E. Lund 💙💛Nov 10, 2022

@shakespearenut @BlurTheFur Not that I've been able to figure out--or not on my instance, although it usually has all the bells & whistles--so I followed someone else's example and put a description of my profile photo in a pinned post.

As we are able to pin multiple posts to the top of our personal feed, it seems like a useful thing to do.

Show threadAphrodite (recharging)Nov 6, 2022

@BlurTheFur The only time I don’t as I post is if I’m trying to do something almost live (roll credits).

I do describe the images in the toot text, but I know that’s not a substitute.

Show threadDavid KnuffkeNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I tried this on the iPhone app. But it wasn’t working (🤷🏻‍♂️). Tapping, etc. on the placeholder text didn’t do anything. Likely user error on my part.
Show threadpaul mitchellNov 6, 2022
@DavidKnuffke @BlurTheFur I had the same problem. Does anyone know how to do this in the app?
Show threadAmy BNov 6, 2022
@paulmitchell @DavidKnuffke @BlurTheFur I’m trying to figure it out too. No clue.
Show threadVivekaNov 6, 2022
@DavidKnuffke @paulmitchell @BlurTheFur @SpraklesBooth use Metatext for iOS instead, it’s a better app. Free and accessible, and makes adding alt text easy. Even has text recognition for images with text in them (e.g. signs).
Show threadDavid KnuffkeNov 6, 2022
@Viveka @BlurTheFur @SpraklesBooth @paulmitchell I have now downloaded Metatext. And it is much nicer. Many thanks!
Show threadshannaNov 6, 2022

@DavidKnuffke @BlurTheFur The cursor is there when you tap, but the placeholder text doesn’t go away so it’s hard to see. Took me several attempts to figure out!

However, the images I posted don’t have any indication they have alt text? How would users (other than those using screenreaders) know if they did or not?

Show threadBLURNov 6, 2022
@DavidKnuffke I'm not sure about the iPhone app (Android user here!). I do know that the official Mastodon apps are... not the best and don't have all their features yet. It's worth trying out some of the 3rd party ones.
Show threadZachNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur
Which third party apps would you recommend for ios? New to mastodon given the big science Twitter diaspora and not sure where to start with a lot of this.
Show thread@JoeOHaraDCUNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur Great - thanks for the reminder. Will do!
Show threadCaseyNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur - can you show me an example?
Show threadBLURNov 6, 2022
@Wonam6
Sure! Here's a piece of art of mine. If you hover over, you can see the alt text. It can be something simple. As long as it gets the idea of the image across.
"Digital art of a smiling blue dog holding a purple rose in its mouth and wagging its tail"
Show threadJulie SaundersNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur @Wonam6 Do you know how this works on the iPhone app? I’ve tried a few different things but I can’t get it to show up.
Show threadCaseyNov 6, 2022
@ohmissjulie @BlurTheFur - it was easy on the app for me. It told me everything to do. If you’re having trouble, it’s probably because thousands of people are joking every hour now.
Show threadJulie SaundersNov 6, 2022
@Wonam6 @BlurTheFur I meant viewing alt text specifically. It seems like on desktop you hover over the image, but that’s not an option on iOS. I tried long-press and a couple other things, but nothing pulled up alt text on images I know have it.
Show threadCaseyNov 6, 2022
@ohmissjulie @BlurTheFur - yeah, the iPhone doesn’t like “hovering “. 🤭
Show threadtsincNov 8, 2022
@ohmissjulie
I dont have the iphone app, but on my app (fedilab) you click on the picture to make it go fullscreen, then click again to show the alt-text.
@Wonam6 @BlurTheFur
Show threadCaseyNov 6, 2022
@ohmissjulie @BlurTheFur -
Show threadCaseyNov 6, 2022
@ohmissjulie @BlurTheFur - I’ve only been on here for a week but getting the hang of it. I’m sure I have a lot to learn
Show threadSadie Ní ManacháinNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur @Wonam6 thanks for the example and explanation. Not working on my phone app but I'll try the desktop later 👍
Show threadSteph Gunther 💉💉💉💉Nov 6, 2022
@Wonam6 @BlurTheFur Yes, please explain this. I have no idea what alt text is. 😔
Show threadAsh Ponders 📸Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur is there a good client that supports this? My current (selected years ago) doesn’t seem to.
Show threadRainwolf /ᵔᴥᵔ\Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur so how does one add alt text to a post on Mastodon
Show threadBLURNov 6, 2022
@Rainwolf When you upload an image, click Edit on the top right corner of the upload. There, it'll give you the option to add a description and also the focal point of the thumbnail
Show threadRainwolf /ᵔᴥᵔ\Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur thanks for the tip ended up finding that button playing around with the uploading tools
Show threadCammieNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur also please don't put the alt text in the post itself, it's really easy to do properly and just clogs up the non image part if you dont
Show threadAuntie JoanNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I’m using the Mastodon app (IOS) and have been doing this (to my shame) for the first time. It seems easy- load a photo, write description in the text space it prompts on the photo. This is a new habit I’m determined to embed.
Show threadona [she/they]Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur and if you have bad memory, you can use @PleaseCaption
it is great!!!!
let's put the people care in the center and not the money!!!!!!!
Show threadSunsetishNov 6, 2022

@BlurTheFur @ahundt Do you happen to know if I can add it to my profile & banner pictures?

I couldn’t find it in my profile options

Show threadkirjasto-oravaNov 6, 2022
@sf_ish @BlurTheFur @ahundt you can't, but you can pin a post with descriptions. see my profile for an example
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I always add image descriptions & push apply, but then I can’t see them when I publish. Is there an extra step? I can’t seem to tell if they’re there.
Show threadFranke JamesNov 6, 2022
@Sheril @BlurTheFur good question! I was wondering that too.
Show threadJohn ChivallNov 6, 2022

@Sheril @BlurTheFur The 'official' Mastodon app on Android doesn't show image descriptions (at least that I've found) but Tusky does - long press on the image and the description pops up. Tusky in general seems a bit easier/nicer than the Mastodon app.

On desktop web, hovering over the image should show the description, and on mobile web, depending on your browser, long pressing on the image should show it along with the browser context menu.

Show threadJohn ChivallNov 6, 2022
@Sheril @BlurTheFur I've just discovered that in Tusky, when you tap an image to expand it the image description is also shown below
Show threadJean-François GonzalezNov 7, 2022
@BlurTheFur @Sheril @johnchivall The Metatext app does also show the caption if you click on the image.
Show threadCute Palus Doing Cute ThingsNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur to its credit, twitter has recently (at least, on web) started reminding you to add alt text whenever you post an image... idk what the trigger is, because it doesn't *always* do it, but I post infrequently enough so that it almost always happens for me. I think there's a setting in pixelfed that adds an automatic reminder, too, but I can't find one like that for mastodon. I'm sure it's in github as a feature request already, though
Show threadDanny ThomasNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I dare not forget alt text, lest @igb unfollows me
Show threadDanny ThomasNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur @igb can't see a way of seeing the alt text in the Android app though, hmm...
Show threadMathias HasselmannNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur They dying platform added a reminder preventing you from posting pictures without description shortly before the nine-year-old came to destroy it. I really liked this feature. Maybe it also can be added here?
Show threadJared 🇦🇺🏳️‍🌈⚧️👽Nov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I'm one of them! Unless the text posted with an image already covers it I won't boost an image without alttext!
Show threadRoss HopkinsNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur Did this for a bunch of pieces of fanart I posted recently. Took a little while but was a surprisingly fun creative writing exercise.
Show threadAndrew PorterNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur seems like this should be standard practice everywhere, really
Show threadDaveNov 6, 2022
@BlurTheFur I feel stupid asking this but is alt text some type of code or is just a brief description of the photo
Show threadAstrid BearsNov 6, 2022
@Debhruin @BlurTheFur mainly a description of the photo; perhaps some context of needed.