Mayank

i've made a thing: https://xkcd.fyi/

it's an alternative frontend to https://xkcd.com/ with some important differences:
- title text shown in a more accessible way (instead of abusing alt text)
- transcript included for every comic (with newer ones sourced from explainxkcd)
- link to https://explainxkcd.com/ (for when you don't get the joke)
- dark mode!

xkcd.fyi

Aug 5, 2024 at 4:52pmWeb
Show threadalcinnzAug 5, 2024

@mayank To nitpick: XKCD doesn't abuse alt-text, though yes the tooltips are inaccessible to those not using a mouse.

Mostly nitpicking because this seems to be a common fallacy.

Btw, glad to see you integrating ExplainXKCD!

Show threadMayankAug 5, 2024

@alcinnz ah true, i should have said "abuse title attribute". weirdly, xkcd's own JSON dump uses `alt` as the key for the title text, which i think indicates that they used to use the `alt` attribute at one point. https://xkcd.com/2967/info.0.json

anyway, the main problem i'm solving is that xkcd comics are inherently very inaccessible in the way they are currently published.

Show threadamyAug 5, 2024
@mayank @alcinnz Kinda answers a query I had about this - how do screen readers "know" to read the transcript (or do you still actually use alt text, just no `title` to go with it?)
Show threadkimaprAug 5, 2024
@alcinnz @mayank > , though yes the tooltips are inaccessible to those not using a mouse.

not true, the tooltips can be read on a mobile device. just long tap the image
Show threadnebby   Aug 5, 2024
@kimapr @alcinnz @mayank (mice and touchscreens are not the only ways to access the web though)
Show threadkimaprAug 5, 2024
@banaanihillo @alcinnz @mayank unless the way in question is broken, it should always be possible to read alt text.
Show threadFloating Point ErrorAug 7, 2024
@alcinnz @kimapr @mayank whaaaaaat, I finally can use tooltips now!
Show threadChris ColemanAug 5, 2024
@mayank Nice work, and I'm digging the border-radius.
Show threadkatherineAug 5, 2024
@mayank this is awesome, thank you! will it update with new comics?
Show threadEricAug 5, 2024
@mayank yo, this rules
Show threadLyrenhexAug 5, 2024

@mayank genuine question, but when you say this

  • title text shown in a more accessible way (instead of abusing alt text)

do you mean the text that shows up on hover? because I didn't think that was abusing alt text.

am I wrong on that?

(not saying that xkcd.com does handle alt text correctly - it looks to just put the comic title in there, which would be... unhelpful.)

Show threadglynAug 5, 2024
@mayank The site linked to by Explain is currently down. I wonder if this new site could be the reason?
Show threadSaptakSAug 5, 2024
@mayank this is amazing work! Going to start sharing this link instead.
Show threadLionel 🦊Aug 5, 2024
@mayank Great idea! Any chance you can also add an RSS feed?
Show threadKara GoldfinchAug 5, 2024
@mayank This is what I've been looking for. :) thank you.
Now I'll be able to understand the secret sighted language. :)
Show threadMax DuvalAug 5, 2024

@mayank accessibility improvements very welcome, especially on mobile devices. Did you consider getting the high resolution version of the image? It looks a tad blurry for me…

https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/matter.png
v
https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/matter_2x.png

Show threadridicheAug 5, 2024
@mayank Suggestion: Add a list with all the comics and a button to quickly go to a random comic
Show threadridicheAug 5, 2024
@mayank Also add a way to view the explanation without flashbanging myself
Show threadridicheAug 5, 2024
@mayank Oh I didn't see the buttons at the bottom. Those are good but you should add a random button as well
Show threadTreyAug 5, 2024
@mayank @chriscoyier Love it! Any plans for RSS?
Show threadEVHasteAug 5, 2024
@mayank I like this.
Show threadxrvsAug 6, 2024
@mayank better mobile ui than m.xkcd.com too
xkcd: Metric Tip

Show threadxrvsAug 6, 2024
@mayank oh btw you should retain license notice somewhere in the page
Show threadMarcos HuertaAug 6, 2024

@mayank Very cool!

When does it update? Main site and explainxkcd have 2968 up already (but .fyi is still showing 2967)

Show threadFxChiPAug 6, 2024
@mayank How are you converting the images to dark mode? It doesn't look like a total invert (blues stay blue) but just a value one (light blues become dark, darks become light), but I don't see what attribute might be doing that...
Show threadFxChiPAug 6, 2024
@mayank Oh wait, I see it now: `body { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) }`. Very neat!
Show threadThomas JOUANNOTAug 6, 2024
@mayank did you try to reach out to him?
Show threadHippo πŸ‰Aug 6, 2024
@mayank this is cool! Fits right in with my brutaldon setup πŸ˜‰
Show threadCoffeeAug 6, 2024
@mayank Looks amazing! It's only missing the random button, which was how I preferred to interact with the original website.
Show threadnaiaAug 6, 2024
@mayank I recall a friend saying that some CS / tech selection schemes should be replaced by some measure of how likely one is to be able to explain an xkcd comic. πŸ˜†
Show threadGrΓ©goire LocquevilleAug 6, 2024
@mayank This is great! I wouldn't mind having the explanation on the page too (in the same fashion as the transcript), although I guess this would mean a good amount of additional work
Show threadJoe LanmanAug 6, 2024
@mayank really nice work congrats! Minor thing but just wondering if Transcript should come before Title/hidden text in the page order, as the Title is hard to understand before you read the Transcript, if you can't see the image
Show threadPalmAndNeedleAug 6, 2024
@mayank that's pretty darn cool 
Show threadMike-ιΊ₯-Mai-v1.618 😎Aug 6, 2024
@mayank sweeeeet
Show threadChristian Moved Servers ➑️Aug 6, 2024
@mayank This is great! well done πŸ₯³ And thank you for bringing to my attention PaperCSS - I didn't know we could do borders like this! This will look great on a recipe site I'm doing πŸ™
Show threadπŸŒ’πŸŒ“πŸŒ•πŸŒ—πŸŒ˜ MidnightAug 6, 2024
@mayank

16 standards
Show threadThird spruce tree on the leftAug 6, 2024

@mayank super awesome and I love this.

Just trap < and > cursor keys (or j,k for nerds) to navigate previous/next and this would be _perfect_.

Show threadElessarAug 10, 2024
@mayank Very good! In case you would be looking for feature ideas, I would suggest an RSS or Atom feed. πŸ™‚
Show threadKara GoldfinchAug 14, 2024
@mayank Just thought of a feature suggestion. Add a search box so you could type in the number of the xkcd that someone posted.
Show threadKevin Renskers πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊAug 18, 2024
@mayank love it! But why are so many images broken? Especially for the older ones, more broken ones than working ones.
Show threadKevin Renskers πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊOct 23, 2024
@mayank It’s not showing special characters correctly, see for example https://xkcd.fyi/259