Ian.BurnetteNov 23, 2022

If you're like me, then you were really happy to learn about Mastodon's enthusiastic support for image descriptions, and you were eager to join in.

Then you went to actually write something and realized you have no idea how to present visual info in a way that is helpful/enjoyable to those who are #VisuallyImpaired or #Blind.

I found this guide really informative: https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546

Post-viral Edit: Don't forget to give the author some love on medium. They did the work!

#Accessibility

How to write an image description

I wrote this how-to guide with the immensely helpful counsel and insights from Bex Leon and Robin Fanning, as well as through an online…

Medium
Show threadwesruvNov 23, 2022
@ianburnette That article looks great! As a pro that has to do these professionally, I really liked this article too:
https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
WebAIM: Alternative Text

Show threadFuck Elon Musk

@wesruv @ianburnette I'm surprised by this: "we recommend alt="Astronaut Ellen Ochoa"."

That tells nothing other than sighted readers get to see what she looks like. What value is there to have alt text that's essentially a section header?

Nov 25, 2022 at 4:20pmWeb
Show threadIan.BurnetteNov 25, 2022

@MayWeAllRise @wesruv

I think this just supposed to be an example to demonstrate a guiding principal, which is that if the information conveyed by the image is already described in the article, then you shouldn't repeat it in the alt-text because it's boring and just slows the listener down.

I think this guide is a bit more relevant for people writing an article or designing a website rather than captioning a post, but there are still some good tips.

Show threadFuck Elon MuskNov 25, 2022

@ianburnette @wesruv I hear you, but it's not a good example. To provide only her title and name is less helpful than no alt text because it basically conveys, "there's an image but you don't get to know what it looks like."

Better to provide even a very basic description like, "A professional portrait of Astronaut Ellen Ochoa in her orange NASA spacesuit, helmet off." Better still to actually describe her features.