Personally I think alt-text is valuable for everyone, not for just people with visual impairments.
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@Yehuda xkcd made alt-text fun
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@Yehuda I assume I don't count as "visually impaired" because my vision is correctable to 20/20. I mostly use alt text if my connection shits the bed or if I need more context for what I'm looking at
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@Yehuda Peripatologists of the world unite!
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@Yehuda I don't often read them, but when I do it's because I can't understand the image by itself & need more context
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@Yehuda why do I depend on alt-text? I disabled media previews for saving data
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@Yehuda it's great to find a really well done alt text but mostly I only read them when I have a question about the image. I like the challenge of writing them, but sometimes I don't do an especially good job of it. When I first came here I liked that they are very much encouraged.
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@Yehuda@turtleisland.social I am visually impaired but not to the point of requiring alt text, yet I still read it for more context frequently.
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@Yehuda I'm not visually impaired but I *always* read alt text. Some of the people I follow write alt text so goddamn good it's like reading Tolkien write about trees.
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@Yehuda I love when alt text includes context about the photo, or the text of a sign/label that might be difficult to read on a small screen, etc.
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@Yehuda I also watch TV with the captions on. Not hearing impared, but I do have delayed input reaction so the captions help me keep up.
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@Yehuda I use captions on video because it's easier to read than listen (and often less annoying to turn off the sound) and transcripts very often (the eyes are faster than the mouth). Alt text description of images never.
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@Yehuda I wear glasses, so technically I'm visually impaired. If you need glasses to read, you too are visually impaired.
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@Yehuda I'm not visually impaired and checked "rarely" but "rarely" includes _occasionally_, which I _absolutely do_.
But as a percentage of images I see, it is indeed rare.
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@Yehuda So much accessibility tech is useful to everyone. I use the buttons to open doors all the time when I'm carrying something cumbersome. I use the wheelchair ramps when I'm pushing something on wheels. I use a screen magnifier to make sure pixels line up when working on a code project. I can look elsewhere than the pedestrian crossing light when waiting because it'll beep when it's my turn.
There's literally no argument against making society accessible.
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@Yehuda I use it as an opportunity to understand things that aren't visually clear.
Famous people are big here. I'm not very "up" on television/etc. and don't always recognize celebrities.
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@Yehuda I don't often read it. I have good vision and I don't often have data connectivity issues. I still provide alt-text in images I post because I know some people need it.
If you come across something I posted which doesn't have it please let me know politely and I'll add it.
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@Yehuda I really like writing alt text but I never thought of reading it… I’m a sighted dummy! I just started because of your poll so thank you for the suggestion!
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@Yehuda On Mastodon, I find that the alt text is useful in that it shows me what the poster thought was important about the picture.
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@Yehuda I needed another option: I'm not visually impaired and sometimes read alt-text.
