Personally I think alt-text is valuable for everyone, not for just people with visual impairments.

[forestfern@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda

For me, alt-text gives me an extra peek into the personality of the person sharing the photograph. I delight in reading the alt-text of the clever, well-written jokesters, & am often envious of their wit.

[o1zzfa@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda / Alt-text is very helpful when images don't display correctly. /

[dbsalk@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda if someone posts a picture of a particularly beautiful location, I frequently check the alt text to see if they say where it is. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

[yehuda@turtleisland.social]

@project1enigma

[quester@mstdn.games]

@Yehuda I read the alt text if I’m unsure what I am looking at or if the toot doesn’t explain the picture at all.
I appreciate people who take the time to actually write a descriptive alt text and do so myself.
Just adding one word that does not even describe what’s in the photo is utterly useless.

[erikcats@dice.camp]

@bigtuffal @Yehuda same here. Plus it's an act of mindfulness for me not to spam socials with images but instead try to communicate why this is worth looking at

[shakespearenut@mastodon.nz]

@Yehuda @dianea I am not visually impaired and I find alt txt really helpful to interpret visuals and photos - like, is that really what I think it is (sometimes it’s not).

[boon@wspanialy.eu]

@Yehuda I am visually impaired but not to the point I have to use #alttext Yet I always do when it's available. Hence option two.

[bebef@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda I'm not visually impaired and read alt text not always, not rarely, but sometimes.

[frenchtoastpeasant@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda I read it with videos especially, due to always having my phone on mute.

[sci_photos@troet.cafe]

@Yehuda (not impaired) Recently I installed a script to have the AltText appearing just below the image so I can read it without moving the mouse!

[pia_ranha@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda as a person on the spectrum, I find it helpful to understand the intended messages, or the joke.

[violet@fedi.lesbianforest.club]

@Yehuda We're sighted and love alt text. Sometimes what you're supposed to be looking at isn't clear, sometimes the description makes the joke click, etc. We don't post or boost images without it.

[hananc@tooot.im]

@Yehuda Taryag!

[androcat@toot.cat]

@Yehuda Alt text very often clarifies the thing I was missing about an in-joke or meme.

[gokushrm@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda I don't even have talkback or speech recognition services in my phone ️

[lilywaylolz@tech.lgbt]

I can't read this post... alr lemme get the alt text... wait, I still can't read... *puts on glasses* Ohhh... Wait am I visually impaired or not?

[gub@framapiaf.org]

@Yehuda
Mastodon is a bad exemple of alt text : it mixes description, legend and alternative text.
Alternative text must be used -as it has been designed for- as an alternative for people who need it, not like a creative extra text field for jokes or exclusives informations. The role of alt text is precisely to reduce the understanding gap between peoples, not to expand it.
1/2

[gub@framapiaf.org]

@Yehuda
With Mastodon, if you want all people have an information, write it in the message, please.
If you want to do two-step jokes, use CW or reply to your own message.
2/2

[colinstu@birdbutt.com]

@Yehuda more promising than my old poll results.

This was from years ago though. And tiny but close (to me) sample size. Hopefully folk’s stance has improved since.

https://birdbutt.com/@colinstu/110713123074261943