this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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Alt text for blind people in images, a la Mastodon.
Could this be solved with an app?
I'm not sure but I don't think so. It would require the server to store the alt text for the picture.
And it would also require people to actually use the feature. I still don't know how Mastodon managed to pull this off in this regard..
By making it convenient on the tech side, and having a cohesive enough culture that any newcomers from the many Twitter migrations just did the right thing because that was the norm when they joined.
I myself won't boost anything that doesn't have alt text for example. (Which is still surprisingly common despite the reputation of Masto being well-alt-texted)
This more than anything, I think, made the largest difference. There were lots of alt-scolds on every other platform, but Mastodon embraced alt text to a far greater degree ... BECAUSE IT'S SO EASY.
Got it.
Well, Lemmy already kind of has its own culture, and it didn't catch here yet. But I hope that, if the feature gets implemented, we manage to spread its usage.
There's still some "wider" culture here. Specially in this topic (accessibility), given that at least some redditfugees left as Reddit Inc. was showing a middle finger to its blind users. And from further checking, alt text for images is already implemented:
If the pic above doesn't load, it'll show "The Lemmy logo" instead. But in no moment the interface tells you "hey, add alt text" (there's a feature request for that though). It doesn't show on mouseover either, as in Mastodon, and I think that this is important (it shows non-blind users that the alt text does something).
As such there's still a good chance that this spreads across Lemmy, if implemented better.
I do agree however that Lemmy is more focused on instance culture than the platform-wide culture. That's visible for me as I've noticed that, usually, users behaving too "Reddity" tend to cluster on certain instances, and avoid others. That sounds like a compromise between large scale and seeking what the link calls "the dense, interconnected pattern that drives group conversation and collaboration" - let the kids use the platform, but somewhere that it won't hamper adult discussion.
The relatively higher barrier of entry of the platform as a whole selects people who are a bit more prone to discuss tech, in detriment to other subjects. And even considering your typical user in "reddity instances", he might look dumb in comparison with the rest of lemmy, but he's still an IQ 9001 in comparison with your typical redditor.
(I'm still reading the .pdf, saved it here. Thanks for the link, it looks interesting. As of yet I've focused mostly on the part that you mentioned to be relevant for this discussion.)
Would adding ML generated descriptions of images help here? Would be trivial to add in a third party client.
Perhaps it would help a bit, I don't know. Even if it does, it would be far less than having the sharer to actually write something, and telling the reader the focus of the picture.
I'll give you a personal albeit real example of that. I posted this picture in Mastodon, some time ago:
A machine learning model could theoretically say something like there's a tabby cat in the picture, one semi-abstract acrylic painting, one figurative oil painting. Both paintings rest on a white wall... except that most of those things don't matter, what matters is what the cat is doing towards the viewer.
Contrast it with the translated version of the alt text that I've provided: A playful tabby cat, leaning against the back of a chair, looking at the viewer. Her head, upper thorax, and paws are visible. One paw is holding the back of the chair; the other paw is on the air, in an "I got you!" movement towards the viewer. It's completely different and, when I wrote this, I hoped that both blind and non-blind users could get something out of the picture that they wouldn't without the alt text.
And it's the same deal with other Mastodon posters, not just me. This system - where the user is expected to provide alt text - works well, IMO.
I do like that Mastodon reminds you to add Alt text before posting an image. People think alt text is just for the blind or near blind but sometimes I have a hard time figuring out why a picture was posted and the alt text clears that up. All that to say, it’s reminders help create the habit of adding text descriptors, which helps everyone.