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

[einspossum@chaos.social]

@Yehuda I dont really read it but i still think its important to have.

But i use subtitles on movies etc even though i speak the language, so yeah these things arent always *just* for the people you might have in mind first.

[pawv@tech.lgbt]

@Yehuda 100%. I read alt text sometimes just to feel less stupid about whatever I was supposed to notice or infer about the image or body text.

[alkaid@social.lol]

@Yehuda I read most of them out of curiosity.

[stephaniemoore@mastodon.online]

@Yehuda the curb cut principle

[pawv@tech.lgbt]

@rozeboosje @Yehuda yeah, I also subscribe to the idea of "getting to the point" when writing alt text. I take the "alt" part to heart, focusing on "the point" or key details of why I posted it, instead of going full descriptive text. Sometimes "full descriptive" is the intent tho.

[larymir@chaos.social]

@Yehuda (I voted "I'm not visually impaired and often read alt text" although I'm technically visually impaired because I'm short sighted. But it's not influencing if I'm able to see pictures posted here: I always wear my glasses or hold my phone close enough to my face to be able to see the screen clearly)

[nellie_m@autisticpri.de]

@gloriouscow @realtegan @Yehuda

I like to add extra bits of humour especially with them in mind. Or some more background info. I don’t think it’s annoying, more like a little extra treat that makes reading it more enjoyable.

I think alt-text readers all deserve an extra smile or giggle

[pawv@tech.lgbt]

@springdiesel @Yehuda Yeah! I don't consider myself impaired, but some posts really don't provide enough context without alt text. I don't think most people need full descriptive text, but hitting on "why" you chose to include this image succinctly can greatly improve everyone's understanding.

[daiversity@kind.social]

@Yehuda I've disabled media previews in my Mastodon app, so I only see alt text or the ugly "no description" message when it's absent. Then I decide if I wanna click to see the pic/vid/gif.

[toxy@mastodon.acc.sunet.se]

@Yehuda It is so useful on a small screen and adds context if it’s a meme I’m not familiar with.

[kleines_z@queer.group]

@Yehuda
I'm not visually impaired, but my facial recognition skills suck. So when there are images showing famous people I'm supposed to recognize to understand what the whole post/thread is about, I'm very, very thankful for alt text telling me who it is I'm looking at

[mrbruno@mstdn.social]

@Yehuda I love alt text! Its another chance to be spicy!

[pawv@tech.lgbt]

@scandigonian @Yehuda I don't mean this to offend anyone, but those of us that are vocal about alt text might just be louder than those who need it.

It's a bit like that crude joke "How do you know someone is vegan? They'll tell you". This poll is the perfect bait for anyone who wants—on some level—to brag about their commitment to alt text. I'd be lying if I didn't say some part of me is fishing for a thank you. However, this poll also highlights that I too have noticed alt text has made the Internet better for me. Hence (IMO) the overwhelming bias towards "not needed but yes I read it".

[pawv@tech.lgbt]

@gloriouscow @realtegan @Yehuda secret alt text FTW

[mraptronym@mastodon.social]

@Yehuda I often am out and about with really bad internet, it is super useful

[davidm_yeg@beige.party]

@Yehuda

To be clear and transparent, I answered “not visually impaired” even though I am visually impaired but get full functional correction from lenses.

[muddle@infosec.exchange]

@Yehuda I agreed with you before I saw the poll results, which absolutely agree with you.

I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw of a caretaker shovelling snow off the steps into a school, saying something like "when I'm done with this, I can work on the ramp." The response is "yeah, but if you did the ramp first, then everyone could get in together."

[eggbreakerdotexe@transfem.social]

@Yehuda@turtleisland.social i misread the poll, remove one vote from "i am visually impaired and often read alt text" and add it to "i am not visually impaired and often read alt text"

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@Yehuda I'm not visually impaired and do indeed often read alt text. It's sometimes useful for stuff like figuring out what is actually going on in an image/video for example. I can't emphasize enough how much it helps sometimes when people present a thing they just get, but some of us don't. Especially with things like when we're supposed to recognize a particular person or something in an image. Alt text can tell us what any of it even means when otherwise we have no clue. Also sometimes my connection is acting up and it's the only way I can even know what's in a post when the images or videos don't load.

[jgamble@fosstodon.org]

@Yehuda

I usually put more posting text in the image's alt text than I do in the post.

I'm often frustrated by how often the alt text reporting bot ranks my instance. Sometimes we get over 50%, but not often.