#ofc the text helps with screenreaders but also?
Note
Hello! Sorry to bother you, but you are the only blog I know who makes IDs outside of their own stuff so I figured you were the best person to ask. Do you have by any chance ressources to learn how to make and practice them? I want to start using them but I'm not a native speaker and I'm kinda struggling ^^'
Thank you and have a nice day!
oh ofc!! if u want, i have some good posts in the #image descriptions tag on my blog, but i'll link some stuff here too :D
Why and how, basics
Quick tips and tricks
Describing comics
Describing videos
Image Description Guidelines
and a couple of my own tips !!
a great rule of thumb is, "the more time someone would look at an image, the longer + more detailed the description should be". This means, if it's a little doodle or a meme, u don't have to spend hoursss describing every little thing (ie, the clothes ppl are wearing, the lighting, that typa thing -- unlessss it's like,, part of the joke/meme. does that make sense ?) this post by mothfishing [hyperlinked] explains it SO much better than i ever could
on that note, a short/""bad"" id is always better than none at all!! don't worry too much abt the quality, or else you'll get stuck in a loop of fixing and editing and the description will never be published (or is that just me lol)
an absolute lifesaver for me was using a text-to-speech/screen reader to read my descriptions back to me ! especially if it were a longer piece, i would write an id, turn on the screenreader + close my eyes, then see if i missed anything important + if i needed to rephrase anything.
for practicing:
if you see an image w/ a description, try to write one yourself for that image. then just check between those ! it's bound to be different, but how? try to figure out which fits the image better, then adapt !
whenever i'm bored/have nothing to do, i try to describe things in the room. this is mostly just a fun little game to keep my brain busy, but it's also helpful in building skills !
if i can, i like to read out my description to a friend/family member if they're around. i ask them to imagine what i describe, then i show them the image to see if it matches. getting other people's input is always v v helpful... and speaking of....
the people's accessibility discord server!!!!!! i cannot emphasize enough how cool and nice everyone is there !!!!! u can ask for help describing something, ask ppl to double check ur work, or just send an image for ppl to describe!! literally everyone there is just so wonderful and helpful :3 here's an invite link!
little things that i learned:
the screenreader on my phone reads quotes without pause. so it would read "a sentence just like this" as if the quotes weren't there. so i picked up the habit of putting a comma before the quote to break the sentence up. so saying "this" sounds much more different then saying, "this".
(desktop only i think) it's much better for a screen reader to read line breaks (holding shift and enter) than just paragraph breaks (just enter). with paragraph breaks, the person using the screen reader would have to tap on each new paragraph to read it, which can be a hassle. with line breaks, the screen reader just reads the next bit automatically, but the ID is still visually broken up.
save stuff to ur drafts to look over later !
for text-heavy images, use a OCR/image-to-text extractor. just put the image in and copy the text it spits out, maybe looking over it to make sure there aren't any mistakes. this definitely removes a lot of the burden of copying text painstakingly by hand yk
i'm sure there must be more i'm forgetting, so if any of my followers want to leave any more tips in the notes i'd greatly appreciate it :D
#image descriptions#ask#just-an-octopus#fantasticcc url btw !! i used smth similar a while back ^__^
10 notes
·
View notes
Note
sorry if you've gotten this question before or if it's a little silly but do you have any tips or pointers for people who want to start providing photo descriptions on their posts/other people's posts? its always nice to see so many people do it on my posts and just in general and want to contribute similarly!! thank you!!!
ofc! I'm not an authority on writing image descriptions (as I don't use them that frequently), so I think my first piece of advice would be listening/learning from the people the IDs are actually for, you know? but some things I keep in mind while writing mine are:
anything is better than nothing. if you're unable to write a long ID, consistent IDs, or are worried about how "good" your ID is, it's still way better to add a mediocre description than to have no accessibility at all!
IDs aren't the place to make joke or try to be "clever". if you're describing a photo of a dog for example, it's better to be factual, "a shiba inu walks down a sidewalk confidently", rather than write something unnecessarily goofy/infantilizing/unclear like "an adorkable pupper doggo walking down the hecking sidewalk like a boss!!"
on a similar note: be as objective as possible, rather than "telling" the reader what opinions to have. for example if you want to describe a drawing as "impressive" or "beautiful", try naming what specific and objective facts you like about it instead, like "intricately detailed" or "colorful".
describe the most important information first, what the reader needs to know most to understand the message of the image, and then add as much "filler" details as you want after that. personally I also try to do this by saying "what" the image itself is before anything else, ex: "a pencil drawing of __", "a reaction image of a man who's __", or "the XYZ meme. it depicts __".
when you're unsure how to describe something, a trick I find very useful is trying to try describe it the way you would to a friend on the other side of the room. POV you laugh at a meme on your phone and your friend asks what's so funny, what do you say to them next? I find this helps me balance being factual vs just rambling.
putting IDs in the original post's text itself (directly under the image) is the most accessible, because alt text can generally only be seen with a screenreader. that said alt text is still better than nothing. and if you want to be able to see alt text without a screenreader, xkit has a setting you can turn on to show it! this is specifically v helpful for me when determining whether someone else's post already has alt text or not.
before writing an ID for other people's posts, or on posts you can't write an ID for, check the notes to see if someone else has already added one for you (and then reblog that version!)
ok that's about it I can think of off the top of my head but hopefully this is helpful!
27 notes
·
View notes
Text
anyways ill throw my hat in the ring and say
using prev tags makes this site less accessible, either take a screenshot and add it or, EVEN BETTER, just copy+paste the text of the tag
#ofc the text helps with screenreaders but also?#you can change the size/font/color of text either on your dash using extensions or on your blog using themes#and customization options like that are often very needed for people like me#anyways.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
so i wanted to talk a little bit about accessibility in the rpc, because over time i feel like it’s become less and less accessible and harder to communicate your needs with other people in the rpc. aesthetics are important. i know this. i’m guilty of being a slave to aesthetics and graphics etc, but please still be mindful of people who might not be able to access your blog because of this.
a BIG THING is avoiding copy & paste fancy fonts, which are the bane of every person who uses a screenreader and anyone else who struggles reading different fonts all at once. if you have everything written in fancy fonts, you owe me $50. anyways, just refrain from using them! i know they look very neat. i know they’re sexy. but just find alternatives, like html tags (<code> tags are a neat dupe to the monospace fancy fonts) and things like that. if anything, ask your partner(s) if they’re okay with you using those fonts in your threads. communication!!!! communication!!!!!!!!!!!
in the same vein of screenreaders, make sure that all of your text is plain text, and not images! there’s plenty of blogs i’ve seen out there who have most of their descriptions, carrd pages, etc, ALL written in images, which is impossible to access for a myriad of different reasons. don’t do that. just use regular text. i’m begging.
carrds or linked pages attached to your blog are often easier to navigate than google docs on mobile. i’m not saying you need to change to carrd or anything, but offering an alternative is very helpful. it can just be all your text copy and pasted into a regular page.
i’ve heard people find carrds that don’t have clear navigation to be an issue (links without clear direction, images with no label, etc, etc) so i would just suggest having an option for a clear navigation. if anyone wants to elaborate on that more, feel free to.
at the end of the day, communicate with your partners more! make it clear that you both are there for fun and care for each other’s health and ability to pursue this silly little hobby. listen to each other. take each other’s needs into account. the rpc has become a place centered around the aesthetics rather than the fun and connections in my opinion, and i think we need to make sure we’re not just focusing on the aesthetics.
again, aesthetics are important (depending who you ask ofc), but accessibility and community is also if not more important.
#rph#rpc#roleplay help#*#idk i just really wish the rpc was more accessible! i know some people who have completely turned away bc of these sorts of issues#anyways
23 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
