Remembering to look for and ignore folks with that telltale indicator has made the fediverse so much more enjoyable.

  • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    36·
    2 days ago
    Needs text alternative, so everyone can understand this sage advice.

    Images of text break much that text alternatives do not. Losses due to image of text lacking alternative:

    • usability
      • we can’t quote the text without pointless bullshit like retyping it or OCR
      • text search is unavailable
      • the system can’t
        • reflow text to varied screen sizes
        • vary presentation (size, contrast)
        • vary modality (audio, braille)
    • accessibility
      • lacks semantic structure (tags for titles, heading levels, sections, paragraphs, lists, emphasis, code, links, accessibility features, etc)
      • some users can’t read this due to lack of alt text
      • users can’t adapt the text for dyslexia or vision impairments
      • systems can’t read the text to them or send it to braille devices
    • searchability: the “text” isn’t indexable by search engine in a meaningful way
    • fault tolerance: no text fallback if
      • image breaks
      • image host is geoblocked due to insane regulations.

    Contrary to age & humble appearance, text is an advanced technology that provides all these capabilities absent from images.

    • MyBrainHurts@piefed.caOPEnglish
      11·
      1 day ago

      You’re not wrong!

      I’m just shitty and kinda lazy. I’m usually trying to make memes between other things and after fussing about, don’t feel like spending the extra time to write it out.

      I wish there was an option to outsource that to the community so folks who maybe don’t post as much could help by providing alt texts or something.