I've been thinking a lot about the #Fediverse ALT issue.
Some people are annoyed by posts without #Alttext, & others get reminded¹ to add it.
The core question is: How can we improve #accessibility?
Proposal:
☑️ Add a user filter to hide media posts without #AltTag
☑️ Reduced engagement on hidden posts would encourage adding #Alt text
☑️ People who need accessibility wouldn't have to encounter unlabeled media
If this gets traction, I'll open a #Mastodon GitHub issue.
@madeindex I'm skeptical that "reduced" engagement would be a compelling argument or difference.
Is "engagement" the thing that most people think of when posting? It's a very capitalistic way of thinking of communicating with fellow humans.
I'm also reminded of Goodhart's Law: a measure that becomes a target ceases to be a good measure.
A different social network tried to encourage folks to write engaging replies and said they instead saw an increase in filler text (spaces, dots, "this").
@zimzat You have a point, however I do think people want engagement, as you post to get a reply or reaction of any kind right?
I did not get that part about the spaces dots and this though! Can you please explain? :)
MadeInDex 📰🌎
Russell
Samuel Lison