@Gargron I do hope that one of the improvements is that when one adds an image, the alt-text box automatically and immediately opens with the cursor in the box, ready to enter the alt text. This will finesse three problems:
1. not knowing about alt text
2. knowing about alt text but not knowing how to enter it
3. knowing how to enter it but forgetting in the moment
Making it the natural default removes the structural bias against entering it.
I useMastodon using my browser. I assumed that the basic structure of the web interface came from Gargron, with the individual instance able to customize it to some degree (e.g., maximum post length). That, I assumed, was why the overall web interface was much the same from instance to instance.
My suggestion was aimed at the web interface template that the instances receive.
Perhaps my mental picture of this is wrong.
Droid Boy, take a look at this article in Verge:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23884312/mastodon-search-onboarding-cross-server-interactions-4-2
The article makes clear that Mastodon's user interface in a browser is indeed a part of the Mastodon implementation.
And I believe that interface should make alt text entry the default instead of discouraging it (as described in my earlier post).