Aral Balkan
Folks, it’s encouraging to see more of you writing alternative text on images here so people who use screen readers can also take part but please make sure the text really is the equivalent of the image.
So, for example, if you’re posting a screenshot of some text, don’t just say “Excerpt of article” or “A tweet by so-and-so” but actually copy/paste the text from it (many platforms let you do this with images these days).
Folks who use screen readers have the right to hear what we see.
Aral Balkan
@friederike182 Indeed. Let’s not even start on how much more screen readers could do in a system that valued more than just profits.
Schergë 𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔐𝔦𝔠𝔨𝔶 𝔐.
Und ScreenReaderApps haben eine Bringschuld auch Bilder per OCR vorzulesen. Die ScreenReaderApp meines Vertrauens, die ich selber auswähle und installiere, ist vertrauenswürdiger als die interpretation irgendeines Tröters.
Aral Balkan
Here’s a good guide for writing alternative text for images so people who use screen readers can also take part:
#a11y #accessibility #inclusivity #web #fediverse #twitterMigration #altText #altTextMovement
Aral Balkan
@LittleSteps2B @webhat Good rule of thumb: If you have words in the image, those words should be in the alt text.
And including a link to the article/source/etc. in the body of your post is always a good thing to do in any case :)
LittleSteps2B
Do you use the path in the AltText, or in the post self?
webhat
@aral I'll often add implied context not seen in the image. For example with a screenshot of a UI, I will add the path needed to get to that state in the #AltText, if it isn't already in the body of the message
Or sometimes I'll write a Dutch followed by an English description, if that is my target audience
I don't know how useful that is, so I'm welcome to being corrected
Aral Balkan
Here’s how you add alternative text (“alt text”) to your images on Mastodon so people who use screen readers can also take part.
1. Add an image to your post.
2. Press the Edit button.
3. Add your alt text.
#mastodon #fediTips #altText #alternativeText #accessibility #a11y
Aral Balkan
@gastarbajterica Here you go: https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral/109856975737773529
Hope that helps :)
gastarbajterica
Thanks! How can you add ALT text on Mastodon? Does it depend on the instance?
Aral Balkan
@zleap Which platform(s) are you using? On iOS (and I believe macOS) you can do that natively by clicking and dragging on text in an image.
For Linux, I use Frog (https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.tenderowl.frog).
#a11y #accessibility #altText #opticalCharacterRecognition #ocr #linux
Paul Sutton
If I upload a picture that has text, there is a facility to scan the image for text, it didn't work last time I tried it. So in most cases can type small amounts of text manually.
Perhaps there could be a way to embed or append image metadata with the actual text of the image, then mastodon could be able to pick that up.
There are tools for stenography so it is possible to do that.
Aral Balkan
@troz Indeed. Accessibility benefits everyone.
troz
@aral And for coders, a screenshot of the code is really clear, but it’s great having the actual code in the alt text so it can be copied.
Aral Balkan
@mctwist It’s OK, don’t worry about making it perfect. You’ll get better with time (he says from experience, hoping…) :)
PS. Here’s a good page of examples. There’s a link to step-by-step instructions at the end of that page too: https://www.sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/digital-accessibility/guides_tutorials/alternative_text/step-by-step-instructions-alt-text/alt-text-examples/index.php
McTwist
@aral I uploaded an image today for he first time, and found it difficult to describe the image. Not sure if I was too descriptive or too vague.
Aral Balkan
@gastarbajterica Anytime :)
gastarbajterica
Many thanks!
Konstantin :veripawed: :veritrek: :rainbow_pride_potion:
HiCoo 💙🇪🇺🏴🏴
@aral Thanks for the tip - I kept adding my #AltText to the text in my post when I needed to use it.
Also great to seem more folk using #CamalCase in hashtags.
Izzie🥑
I follow @alt_text which reminds me if i forget to add alt text. But i don't forget because this is how #Megalodon handles it. You see this prompt right after you attach an image to a post:
Aral Balkan
@izstranger @hicoo Yep, I follow @alt_text too. Very useful. Also, yes, good defaults can make a huge difference.
Pratik Patel
@aral Also, if your instance is running version 4.1.0 of #Mastodon which was recently released, you can edit your post and add alt text if you've forgotten it or if you need to edit a previous post. This used to be a difficult process in previous version of Mastodon.
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