The internet has become 3 massive multi-user blogs, each largely consisting of screenshots taken of the other two. This kind of blows, and not just for the usual reasons that may spring to mind.

Images are a terrible medium for online communication! Not everyone online uses a monitor. Any messages contained in a picture is straight up unacceptable without alt-text. It also makes it harder to find and fact check sources, or to spread a thought or idea further than yet another image upload. Copy/pasting text is just plain easier than downloading and uploading.

If you’re going through the trouble of creating an image post, take an extra minuite to copy/past (or even transcribe) the source text into the alt-text submission. It’s not much, but it goes a ways to improving how we use this blasted network!

https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546

  • Trying2KnowMyself [they/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    4 months ago

    In my post above, I put an image with: ![Not actually the alt text, I can’t see this on my current browser except when showing the post source](https://hexbear.net/pictrs/image/011d66a5-46d8-426b-b8a6-fa7847b58aa7.png "This appears as the alt text for me. The image used is the Adventure Time emoji with Finn and Jake fist-bumping.")

    On a computer, the only browser I tested was Firefox. The title text displayed on mouse hover. Both title and alt text were visible in the HTML page source.

    On mobile, I was only testing with Safari. The title text displays on long press. The post source displays when I click the post source button.

    • chgxvjh [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      4 months ago

      Alt text aren’t supposed to be rendered.

      Whether that’s a good thing? I don’t really think so, sure makes it a lot harder to get the average person to care about them.

        • chgxvjh [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          3·
          4 months ago

          Copying the alt to the title may result in the same text being presented twice.

          If you show it as a tooltip, people will use it as a tooltip.

          I guess that’s why it’s hidden so we’ll. The average webdev only learning about alt texts through search engine optimization might be preferable outcome over them approaching it as a visual design feature.