Are you a photographer? Did you just take the most amazing picture of your life and are excited to share it on social media so others can bask in it's glory? If so, I feel that way about music, so I get it.
The question for you though, is did you add alt-text? Nope, this isn't going to be 'one of those posts' where I berate you for not doing so, it's actually to make you stop and think.
If the answer's yes, then this won't apply to you, but if the answer's no, let's see why not.
Is it because you think alt-text doesn't matter and nobody reads it anyway?
Is it because you don't know how to describe it so you just don't?
If it's either of those, let me see if I can help a bit.
Scenario 1, imagine how you'd explain your amazing picture to someone who can't see.
This might make you clam up because that seems like a really intimidating task, so let's not think of it like that. Instead, let's go for scenario number 2.
Imagine explaining it to someone on the phone that you just called up in huge excitement because of this crazy-good picture, they can't see it so you're just using natural language to explain why it has rocked your world.
do that, and then type what you think into the alt-text box.
Don't over-think it, you don't even have to go into gobs and gobs of detail if you'd rather not, but enough so that someone talking about your picture to someone else who hasn't seen it, will still be able to get all the high-points you yourself would want them to get, when talking about it.
If you do that for your pictures, people like me with no sight, and even your mum, dad, granny on the phone who isn't on social and won't join the family chat because they don't have a smart phone, will be able to enjoy it to, based on your personal description.
I'm not here to patronise you by any means, more to help you help others to enjoy your work even more, that's all.
#AltText helps so many people, not just those with a visual impairment.
If you made it this far, thank you.
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Graham Downs
in reply to Andre Louis • • •I find alt-text relatively easy to add when posting from my computer, but it's a bit of a pain to have to think about it when I'm out and about and have just taken a snap that I want to share with my friends. Typing on my phone is... icky at the best of times (because I'm visually impaired myself), so I actually very seldom post to social media from my phone. Except for memes and photos. Which I then have to worry about describing. Often when I'm in a hurry and don't have much more than the 10 seconds it took me to post the image in the first place.
I also think fear of having to come up with alt text keeps a lot of people from sharing stuff. I know I've thought twice about sharing one of those long cartoons because how on EARTH am I going to describe it in 1000 characters?
And if I do, but I forgot an attribution or copyright notice -- or I don't *notice* said attribution or copyright notice in the first place -- I'm probably going to get berated.
I agree that alt text is good and useful and people should try to include it. But I also agree that people on the Fediverse can be really obnoxious and pedantic and just plain not-very-welcoming at times. As you alluded to with your "this isn't going to be one of *those* posts" comment. The fact that you felt the need to add it means that you're aware that not only do "*those* posts" exist, they're also rather common.
The Fediverse is a wonderful place, but sometimes I feel we're not very accepting or welcoming of newcomers at all. If you're a brand new person joining, it's advisable to lurk for a loooong time and pay close attention to what the norms and expectations are before you make your first post. :/
Andre Louis
in reply to Graham Downs • • •