We now require alternative text (from now to referred to as “alt text”) to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.
We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.
When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don’t add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.
If there are no clear and valid objections from the community, we will fully adopt the requirement in a week or so.
Draft for sidebar rule
We require alternative text (from now referred to as “alt text”) to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.
When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don’t add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.
Draft for guideline page in our wiki
(since the instance wiki is currently unusable, we were unable to expand the wiki accordingly; we will follow up on this when possible)
Guidelines for writing alternative text (from now referred to as “alt text”)
For more details please feel free to take a look here:
- https://web.archive.org/web/20241210022539/https://mashable.com/article/how-to-write-alt-text-memes-social-media
- https://web.archive.org/web/20250319140047/https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-for-memes/#expand
- https://web.archive.org/web/20250312100159/https://www.afb.org/digital-inclusion/accessibility-resources/writing-effective-image-descriptions
Where to write it
Media posts
- For image posts (including animated ones) this can easily be done using the alt text field provided by Lemmy.
- For videos please provide these in the post’s body.
Embeds (read: in post body or comments): When embedding media in your posts or comments (regardless of media type) you can use markdown to add a label (aka. alt text).
- unlabelled embed:
- labelled embed:
How to write it
The following steps are there to establish a help framework/standard, but are not a hard requirement, especially since they aren’t always applicable
General advice:
- Be descriptive, but concise
- Avoid extra phrases like “an image of” - the screen reader already knows the media type
- Summarize the purpose (alt text should convey the meaning or intent of the medium just as much as it describes the actual elements represented)
- Standard emoji are screen reader accessible and thus are allowed without descriptions
- Audio content must be transcribed if it does not already have a transcript or accessible subtitles
Additional guidelines, which we include because – if ignored – they make the job of screen readers harder or might make the output less useful for the people who utilise them
- Never add line breaks to alt text
- Never add the double quotes from whatever keyboard you use to alt text
- Don’t write words in all-caps
- Avoid abbreviations like the plague if you can
- Don’t type out emoticons
- Always end your sentences and your image descriptions with a full stop
Images:
- Write the main caption first (eg. the top/bottom text)
- Describe the background if essential
- Describe subjects in a logical order (iterate the following for each subject:)
- For subjects with a caption next to them, write the caption first
- Explain what the subject looks like and what it is doing
- Don’t be afraid to give away the punchline when it would otherwise be hard to get
Animated Images/Videos:
- WRITE A CONTENT WARNING (if applicable): Be specific about what is in the content warning. In the context of flashing lights, it is recommended to use terms like “strobe lights”, “flashing lights”, “strobing”, “seizure warning”, or similar
- Use image steps where it makes sense
- Write a transcript of relevant on-screen text
- Write out all spoken audio, adding environmental sounds if they are important for understanding the video
- For videos you should provide an alt text that conveys the general context and a description where sensible. -(E.g. if your video includes dialogue that is not reflected in subtitles, you are required to provide a transcript of it in the video description.)
These are ridiculously draconian rules for allowing a meme post but you do you. Unless this post is a meme, in which case, well done, it makes good satire
Are you familiar with Mastodon and how people add alt text to most images shared there? This is meant as a codified analogue to that. If you have specific suggestions, please feel free to share. As I said in another comment: nothing is set in stone about this rule
I agree with the other two replies, while this is a noble endeavor, it will affect participation and growth of the community negatively. Especially if it is a strict requirement.
I think it will lead also lead to low quality “alt-text” as people just enter “stuff” that doesn’t really help any one.
I think waiting 48 hours to remove posts will also have a negative impact as it cuts off ongoing discussions in comments. I know it would annoy the hell out of me if I was discussing something with another user and our discussion disappeared. If it is going to be required, it should be required to post initially, (if that’s possible in lemmy)
What is the driver of this change? Are you getting complaints of missing text or requests to add it? How many users rely on it?
I do like the idea of sending a reminder. “Hey we noticed your post is missing alt-text, it is strongly encouraged to help less fortunate users”. But just leave it at that.
Overall I feel that restricting user engagement is generally a bad thing when the community relies on said engagement for content. It’s necessity should weighed carefully.
I suspect imposing this will just split the community, a new community would be born, and this one would become less and less shiny over time until it’s just a shell of a very few small core users. Not because what you propose is bad or wrong, but people are lazy… and memes usually speak for themselves.
It’s a meme-posting community. If you want posts, requiring that much effort is likely to work against that goal.
Specific suggestion: let people post memes, using alt text if they choose, or without it if they choose. They are glorified shit posts, typically very low-effort endeavors, and the act of sharing them should be have an equally low bar.
The level of labor you’re asking for in transcription precludes sharing anything in longer form. We’re not content creators in general and while you are certainly free to restrict your community to being that you should understand fully that that’s what you’re doing.
I’d make this optional encouragement instead of requirement. I try to add alt text to the images I post in general. Sometimes I have the time to do it, other times I don’t. If I had to always add it, I’d simply not post when I don’t have the time to add it.
I also feel the same way sometimes, but tbh, I’d rather go for quality and accessibility over quantity
In my experience, these types of strict requirements typically provide neither, and just kill engagement in leftist spaces. It’s actually a tactic recommended in the CIA simple sabotage field manual, because it’s such an effective method of sabotaging leftist movements.
Encouraging it is one thing. Requiring it is textbook ‘letting perfect be the enemy of good.’
I would encourage you to go through providing alt-text for some of the memes that are shared here.
Examples of alt text are usually against ‘reaction memes’ (which dont take more than 20 seconds). However, the more detailed memes I see from folk will genuinely take a few minutes of scrolling up and down to transcribe in detail what is being shown. An example of the 4 panel meme showing text on the left and text on the right will be 12 sentence-paragraphs long to articulate what is shown. Memes are funny not because of what is literally written, but also the insinuation or context that might not be written.
I accept the quality versus quantity, but this should be recognised as a barrier of entry for others, and will be at the expense of engagement. I’d suggest giving it a test period and see how it goes. It would also help if all mods led by example, I only see sporadic usage of this.
Just fyi that this is, as already stated, a test period/provisional rule
I’d also say that not being able to post when you don’t have the motivation to write alt text vs not being able to participate at all / even “consume” the content, is quite negligible
(see other comment regarding valid reasons of ppl not being able to write alt text)And as with any rule change, this doesn’t apply to the past, but to all post made after the time of the announcement
(if you go through my post history in this com of the last few month, I’m pretty sure that 90% of the posts have at least serviceable alt text; though I admit that they are not always up to the standard set here, which I will abide by from now on too ofc)
(I do not mean to sound negative or dismissive btw, am just tired)
