Quick tl;dr on media descriptions in Mastodon:

1. When you attach a thing - music, video, image, whatevs - the "Edit" button in the upper-right of the preview gives you a text box.

2. Besides screen readers and the like, hovering a mouse over the media shows the description.

3. A good media description lets everyone in on the joke so we can tell what this is and why it matters.

A couple cool links re: 3:

- Alt Text as Poetry https://alt-text-as-poetry.net/
- Against Access https://audio.mcsweeneys.net/transcripts/against_access.html

Bit of #promo for #Northumberland folks!

I'm telling stories at a magical Christmas Market deep in the Northumbrian countryside this weekend.

Spread over two days and three villages, with loads of stalls, food, and entertainment (including me). Shuttle buses (or a steam train!) to get around. Come and enjoy some winter cheer and festivities if you're in the area.

#ChristmasMarket #NorthumberlandEvents #Storytelling #SeasonalStories

https://www.ford-and-etal.co.uk/events/ford-etal-christmas-market/

Scam Alert!

If you receive an email or response on Mastodon like the following, DO NOT click the link. It is a scam fishing for login details at the very least.

"Mastodon has detected botting malware on your PC that is congesting the Mastodon network. All affected accounts will be suspended within 24 hours unless removed. _https://REDACTEDLINK"

Hey! It's #OccultLoveFest-ursday (last Thurs o' the month).

Let's try again! Occult roll call! Sound off!

Help anyone new who's managed to escape that workhouse being taking over by the Martian oligarch to #FindTheOthers here doing occult, esoteric, or, you know, any adjacent strange stuff!

Is that you? Reply with what you're doing!

Find something interesting? (& to spread this) boost for others to see!

#magick #occult #thelema #pagan #witch #heathen #esoteric #art #music #folklore #books

A little birdie told us we will be opening for submissions at some point in December.

Pass it on. Details to come.

🐦👀

(As always, we'll be looking for speculative poetry + fiction of up to 5k words. Payment is $60/poem, $0.11/word fiction CAD.)

#submissions #specfic #speculativefiction #writingcommunity #shortstories #poetry #fantasy #sciencefiction #scifi

I hear new people noting how chill, tolerant, and pleasant Mastodon is.

Mastodon isn’t chill or tolerant or pleasant. It’s a tool… a foundation on which to create and maintain a culture.

It’s those who’ve been on Mastodon, run servers, and served as admins who did the hard work and created the culture you now enjoy.

Now, it’s your turn. The only way it stays tolerant and chill is by us doing the work to keep it that way.

A good example of, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”