Mark Wyner Won’t Comply Feb 2, 2023

Update: moved this to my new writing site so there’s a new URL.

Every hashtag on every post on every platform should always be pascal case. I wrote this to illustrate how screenreaders read hashtags based on their case.

It’s a small thing that all of us can do to build a more inclusive, accessible internet for all. Please take the time to use pascal case.

https://markwrites.io/hashtag-accessibility-by-everyone-for-everyone

#Accessibility #WebAccessibility #Usability #Readability #Hashtags #SocialNetworking #Blogging #UX

Mark W.rites - Hashtag Accessibility, by Everyone for Everyone

My post about hashtag accessibility on Mastodon (and later LinkedIn) got a lot of attention. There were so many replies from people who didn’t know about the a…

Mark W.rites
Show threaddorianFeb 3, 2023

@markwyner @pnts mkay hear me out: make the computer do this

• server has index of hashtags with and without camel case
• server sees all lower case hashtag
• server puts most common equivalent camelcased hashtag in `aria-label=` attribute

easy peasy

Show threadRay ChillFeb 3, 2023
@doriantaylor @markwyner @pnts came here to say that it drives me crazy when I always type the bloody hashtags in Pascal case, only to have the interface “helpfully” correct it.
Would love to see this fixed. (Just happened with PTSD shifted to lower case too)
Show threaddorian
@raychill @markwyner @pnts i would consider that a "bug" to the extent that is information-destroying behaviour.
Feb 3, 2023 at 1:55pmWeb
Show threadRay ChillFeb 3, 2023
@doriantaylor @markwyner @pnts if it doesn’t do it automatically, I can’t always work out how to get rid of the tags popup in the mobile client consistently, or I tap the lowercase tag by accident while trying to move on or ignore the suggestions. (For me, late night posting makes this especially hard, as I don’t process in the same way at night as daytime)
Show threaddorianFeb 3, 2023
@raychill @markwyner @pnts i am still in twitter transition mode so i'm not really paying very close attention to all the ins and outs of mastodon yet; i just know that there is a thing called aria-label that will give OP the desired effect irrespective of how users style their hashtags
Show threadRay ChillFeb 3, 2023
@doriantaylor well hello and welcome then, and thanks for the suggestion
Show threaddorianFeb 3, 2023
@raychill i'd write the patch myself if i had the time but i'm behind on things unfortunately
Show threadMark Wyner Won’t Comply Feb 3, 2023
@doriantaylor @raychill @pnts that’s not what aria-label is for. There’s a very specific use for aria attributes, and hashtags or alt text is not it. You can read more about that here: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Accessibility/ARIA/Attributes/aria-label
aria-label - Accessibility | MDN

The aria-label attribute defines a string value that labels an interactive element.

MDN Web Docs
Show threaddorianFeb 3, 2023
@markwyner @raychill @pnts there's an argument to be made that the first sentence of that mdn page describes precisely the scenario of mispronounced hashtags, and if that isn't enough then the second paragraph clinches it. that said, i'm less interested in preserving the interpretative purity of a (particularly underutilized) capability than i am in the results it delivers.
Show threadMark Wyner Won’t Comply Feb 3, 2023
@raychill @doriantaylor @pnts I also ignore them and manually type them all. But folks are making a good point that there’s a reason the autosuggest exists.