A few others have pointed this out but lots of people don’t view using alt text and doing other digital accessibility things as solidarity, they see it as an unnecessary chore.
Reposted from
It's ME(Jaime)
I'm not liking or sharing stuff w/o alt text. Disabled people are on the chopping block, show a little solidarity.
Comments
I think using it universally is a good ideal, but I also think that there are legitimate reasons why some people don't.
And yes, there is a level of "chore resentment".
The things we do for humanity, eh?
a vile thing, all vanity and arrogance,
Pobochi sent it to the void
It has not returned
From the labeler page go to the link indicated and “like” the post or posts that have your own personal choices.
For part 2, you have to click into the "posts" tab on the labeler profile (circled in red on the screenshot), which is not what shows up by default when you look at the labeler.
That is a long list of links back to bluesky, each one goes to a separate post. Find the one that you want, follow the link back to the post, and hit the heart to favorite that post.
Liking one of those posts will assign your choice to your account. It’s an unusual system!
Like I keep saying it everywhere and that's super exciting!
But also, with current events, there's been several posts with important information for resistance, News, and survival info w/out alt txt
Bonus is that we would know who actively took it off...
It’s not black and white , access clash is a thing. I still add alt text but mostly I don’t post complex images because I lack the energy to describe them.
I'm hearing you say that the complex images you're having trouble describing our installation art. I'd be happy to talk through possible access options if wanted.
You're right that it's not as simple as "just post them." A lot of us have a hard time making them for super valid disability reasons
I don't want to clean the bathroom, vacuum the house, do laundry, etc. every week but it makes my life and my family's life better.
You have a hard time doing it yourself? That's so valid.
Ask for some help and work on developing interdependent community❤️
But seriously, if we start explicitly saying to folks that we won’t repost generally without alt text, those folks who want the reposts WILL.
People did all kinds of shenanigans to appease the algorithms >
Otherwise, I try to make up the shortfall with my own repost w alt text added.
So bad all these chores fall on you, the privileged, to be inclusionary. Won’t someone think of the white abled cishet?
i’d just rather amplify important information
what i & others *can* do is boost it while making it accessible for our comrades of varying visual impairments
my hope is that more people continue to catch on that it’s the cool thing to do
sometimes when i catch one of the bigger audience accounts using alt text, i’ll try to repost with expressing appreciation about how & why it’s cool
this is why i don’t drag the menswear guy; that mf adds actual alt text
(But yeah, use alt text, it’s easy!)
I wonder if they would have used it if the original post had alt texted.
B/c it's not considered the default
Way to tell on yourself.
Screenreaders will tell them an image is there, and narrate the Alt text if it is available.
If there is no alt, they just hear "image" and have no clue about its contents.
It's only gotten weird once when someone said "thank you...."
Well? You're welcome? Why are there so many dots? Why'd you make it weird????
Also, it's not JUST about visual impairment.
(1) Context, to 'get the joke'
(2) Ppl block some words & phrases; they'll still see yr post unless you use alt
(3) Like I can read that teensy font on my phone! No one likes the pinch-zoom-scroll thing we gotta do. Alt fixes that!
But I guess folks like me don’t matter either.
I don’t love this brave new world of selfish exclusion.
I have a problem with the attached GIF choices on Bluesky though, when I just want to make a dumb quick meme joke and the description is total garbage.
2) what about their followers followers?
3) why tf would someone reliant of alt text bother following that idiot?
I’m sure there are a ton of other points that I’m missing
Or don't share images
"A cat on a sofa, he is looking up & has his mouth open" isn't what I or a lot of people mean.
Times when you can't do it, the cat on the sofa example is better than doing nothing though
A lot of people have an all or nothing perception of alt text, and it makes it more daunting and exhausting.
You can always make a description more detailed, but start with the basics and build up from there.
Someone could block someone because they don't like the hat in their pfp
We curate our online experience. So many Ppl complain about sm content, yet they can block anything they want
It's kind of really OK for disabled people to be upset when people are treating our needs as inconvenient.
Yeah, it's inconvenient because society is ablest. It's more inconvenient for us
"Alt text is a very good thing, do it! It's good for everyone!" Encouraging, inclusive, even-handed.
"If you don't do alt text I assume you're ableist & find you to be a bad person" rude, unfounded, guilt-trippy.
All the disabilities brought up? I have those two.
So yeah, me personally? Agro. IDK about the author, but if they are impacted by this, they can be Agro too.
Maybe go educate people on creative ways to do this instead of critiquing people
I struggle with how to approach the subject with people I otherwise adore, especially if they're very high profile. Like Gail Simone is a treasure and I don't wanna turn her off by being a pest about accessibility but it's getting more difficult for me to parse her images as I age
This default is credited with “giving” rights. They gave us the vote, the right to marry, the right to access. They claim the power to give and take if we displease them.
“Oh cool! I love that, I’m in.”
“It will require changes and actual Doing from everyone, including you.”
“Oh, ah, see…”
If helping others causes you some immediate discomfort, think about how you just turned discomfort into joy and how lucky you are to have that opportunity!
(Baking for gifts can cost hours and lots of pain but I wouldn't trade it for anything)