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Alt Text and Image Descriptions


PandACT

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@cosmere_play mentioned alt text in the news post about updated logos, and I wasn't sure if I should hijack that comment section or start a thread, so I did both!

I'm not blind, and I don't use screen readers, but it would be great to hear from anyone who does! Or, y'know, if there are any consultants to suggest hiring :3
(@sugjesstive works with an IT company where they add alt text, and they agree that fans working together would be easier and better than getting automatic software!)

My suggestions:

  • captions for images on forum posts, or add a reminder when the title field of an image is empty
  • check the navigation links to make sure screen readers know their function (notifications, messages, and more apparently only say "link" on mobile or PC)
  • encourage Coppermind images to work with Wikipedia's style guide for alt text

I could've just missed all of these because I don't know what I'm doing, but the floor is open! 

 

EDIT: @LewsTherinTelescope pointed out that you can fill the title field by double-clicking images, which makes the first bullet easier!

17th Shard, the official Brandon Sanderson fansite I used title text here, as the logo correctly reads now: "link: 17th Shard, the official Brandon Sanderson fansite. alt 1".

On an article about the new logo designs, you could describe it instead;
"old logo: a shard of blue glass under a black number 17 stylized with cracks as if shattered. Text of different colors reads: 17TH SHARD THE OFFICIAL BRANDON SANDERSON FANSITE"
"new logo: a blue triangle with a bright yellow piece breaking off at the top. Dark blue text says: 17TH SHARD and below it, THE OFFICIAL BRANDON SANDERSON FANSITE with the name Brandon Sanderson in yellow"

Edited by PandACT
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Hey, super excited to see this thread!

Know that I'm down to help out with this overhaul/project, if and when the time comes! :) Quick note, for the sake of transparency: I don't quite work for an SEO company; I actually work for an IT company and do 100% of all the marketing, which includes our website management + SEO + alt text + meta descriptions + blah-blah-blah. 

Now, just shooting the rust, but I definitely recommend hashing out an order/process plan for how you'd like to go about getting this done, in an ideal world. 

(For example: The forums will, by far, be the most difficult place to introduce alt text because every single new post can include an infinite # of images. Whereas the Arcanum and Coppermind will have lots of photos, but not many new posts — so the scale of the projects will remain consistent.)

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Thank you @PandACT for considering this. I've started a project on ao3 doing image descriptions of Shallan's sketchbook, and found that there were a few people very happy to have them, so it's on my mind as an accessibility consideration. Unfortunately that's about as far as I go in terms of skills to bring to the table.

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22 hours ago, cosmere_play said:

Thank you @PandACT for considering this. I've started a project on ao3 doing image descriptions of Shallan's sketchbook, and found that there were a few people very happy to have them, so it's on my mind as an accessibility consideration. Unfortunately that's about as far as I go in terms of skills to bring to the table.

Sounds like a perfect set of skills! The biggest community front is the Coppermind, where most text has transcripts, but there's lots of room for editors to add alt text!
If I were to make a plan like the sugjesstive suggested, I'll start by thinking about image descriptions for the Stormlight notebook pages.
Even a little accessibility will hopefully start a positive loop where more people want to contribute :D

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21 hours ago, PandACT said:

Sounds like a perfect set of skills! The biggest community front is the Coppermind, where most text has transcripts, but there's lots of room for editors to add alt text!
If I were to make a plan like the sugjesstive suggested, I'll start by thinking about image descriptions for the Stormlight notebook pages.
Even a little accessibility will hopefully start a positive loop where more people want to contribute :D

I think beginning with the Stormlight notebook pages could be an amazing first step.

It's relevant, and important in-world — and something that certain readers just can't experience. Yet

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