Personally I think alt-text is valuable for everyone, not for just people with visual impairments.
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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.
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It is really helpful if alt text explains the joke in the image.
English is not my first language and often it is hard to understand what is going on.
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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.
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@Yehuda / Alt-text is very helpful when images don't display correctly. /
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@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.
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@Yehuda 613!!!
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@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. -
@Yehuda i put effort into making my alt text worth reading
@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
