Mastodawn

TheOPtimal Jul 23, 2023

PSA: consider using a CW for emoji-heavy game posts.

The ones with big strings of emoji like #Wordle, #Quordle, #Worldle, & some #HashtagGames can be tough on screen reader users. Having to hear 40 to 200 emoji read out loud as
"colon yellow underscore large underscore square colon colon black underscore large underscore square colon colon green underscore large underscore square colon"
and on and on unless you skip to the next post isn't a pleasant experience. Even worse with many in the feed.

Texan_Reverend Jul 23, 2023

For #ScreenReader users:
I have to imagine that adding filters for popular emoji heavy game names would be a good idea, assuming that you haven't already done so. Things like Wordle, Quordle, Rogule, Worldle, Connections Puzzle, EnchantWorldle, etc. You can configure the filter to either block them from all your feeds entirely or to automatically add a CW to those posts with a title of your choosing, such as "Wordle mention" or "Rogule mention."

kevomalley743 Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend also, thank you for listing games I didn't know about.

Tokkan Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend When I did post them in the past on Twitter, I started just screenshotting the results and then added alt text (because I have friends that use screen readers and knew Wordle destroyed their feeds, much like the non-standard fonts did)
For example:

[⊨-144254][T-01-03-120] "Naya"Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend I had not considered that. Thank you for that reminder/PSA will do will do!

Jonathan 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇨🇦🇲🇽Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend Alternatively, people could stop posting those, but to each their own, right?

@Texan_Reverend I think also toots (and alt texts) could use just normal letters.
I mean there seems to be the style of writing a meme-y post where every other letter is uppercase letter.
It's awful for use dyslexic people too.

Doc AWFL*Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend I find it annoying and unnecessary. Not sure why people do it. And it certainly is inconsiderate of people with screen readers.

Is it a problem when they're embedded in the toot content? Do you prefer them all at the end?

Texan_Reverend Jul 23, 2023

@Tarheel Emoji use scattered throughout a post usually isn't a big issue. Even less so when the emoji are reasonably descriptive without tons of underscores. However, each person's threshold for them is going to be different. For the users I've heard from, the main issue is when there are several emoji strung together, especially these big game blocks or in user display names. Occasional word replacement with the emoji of that thing or the use of a heart at the end of a post is not a big factor.

Doc AWFL*Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend thanks. Do lots of hashtags irk?

Texan_Reverend Jul 23, 2023

@Tarheel Again, depends on the person. If they're in-line and just used as the word they are discussing, that's generally less disruptive than a dozen hashtags at the end. However, I'm sure there's still a threshold where it gets to feel like too much.

Doc AWFL*Jul 24, 2023

@Texan_Reverend ty

groxx Jul 23, 2023

@Texan_Reverend seems like something screen readers should try to detect tbh. While CWs can work here, emoji-bombs are common everywhere.

🧉Jul 24, 2023

@Texan_Reverend umm can't you just skip to the next post when you start hearing that? From my brief experience with VoiceOver for testing my own websites (quite some time ago), rapidly skipping over elements was the normal way to use it…

Texan_Reverend Jul 24, 2023

@valpackett With at least a majority of software, sure. However, it's still an annoyance when lots of them load up your feed. I'm not trying to shame anyone or anything. It just seems like a reasonable thing to consider doing which could make other people's lives a little easier. Lots of people who use alt text, try to be considerate, and make things accessible just aren't aware of the type of experience that screen reader users have with emoji.

Texan_Reverend Jul 24, 2023

@valpackett I've edited to rephrase that skipping to the next post is an option. I still hope more people at least have some awareness of how screen readers interact with things they post. Having a better understanding of how the world works for others can be a powerful way of considering others' perspectives, as well as our own.

Charlotte of the CFP Jul 24, 2023

@Texan_Reverend Not to mention that Wordle is owned by NYT, and they still deserve to be boycotted for their biased anti-trans coverage.

Deb has moved! (see profile) 🇨🇦Jul 25, 2023

@Texan_Reverend thanks for letting us know.
I get expressive with smileys ... are a string of those also annoying for screenreader?
Ex:
😱😂🤣😂

Texan_Reverend Jul 25, 2023

@deborahh A handful of them like that shouldn't be the end of the world, but everybody's threshold for dealing with them will be different.
Personally, I generally avoid using more than one or two in a row if I care about people seeing the rest of the post after that point.
I have some older posts welcoming new users that opened with three emoji & closed with a long example string of them. However, I now only do that via DM to reduce the clutter for people following me as well as the emoji spam.

Deb has moved! (see profile) 🇨🇦Jul 25, 2023

@Texan_Reverend thanks :-)