This page helps explain why it's important to use alt text when posting images on Bluesky, best practices, and tips. ![[Cover-WhyUseAltText-v2-flat-800.jpg|600]] # INDEX [Here are just some of the ways alt-text is useful](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Here+are+just+some+of+the+ways+alt-text+is+useful) [How to add alt-text in your image on Bluesky](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#How+to+add+alt+text+in+your+image+on+Bluesky.) [Alt-text tips for artists](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Alt-text+tips+for+artists.) [Alt-text tips for book people](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Alt-text+tips+for+book+people.) [If you see someone neglect to add alt-text, don't be a jerk](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#If+you+see+someone+neglect+to+add+alt-text%2C+don't+be+a+jerk.) [Blog posts about using alt-text on Bluesky](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Blog+posts+about+using+alt-text+on+Bluesky) [Bluesky threads about using alt-text](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Bluesky+threads+about+using+alt-text) [Alt text resources](https://publish.obsidian.md/debbieohi/alt-text#Alt+text+resources) # Why It's Important To Use Alt Text With Your Images When posting images, try to add alt-text. I turn on my alt-text reminders in [Accessibility Settings](https://bsky.app/settings/accessibility) so I don't forget. When I do forget or am unable to for some reason, I try to add a useful description in a reply to my first post. ![[Accessibility_Alt_Text_Require.jpg|350]] ## Here are just some of the ways alt-text is useful: - Helps visually impaired readers who use screen readers. - Can help the neurodivergent. - Helps your post gets discovered re: search, custom feeds. - When Internet is super-slow, people will see the alt-text in place of unloaded images. - Alt-text can be translated. - If text in images is hard to read, alt-text can help. - Alt-text helps clarify the intent of the image. > [!reminder] Advice from the alt-text community > I asked the Bluesky community for links to useful threads and posts about using alt-text. [You can browse the thread here](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/post/3lacnr5iom622). As @[oedipusnj](https://bsky.app/profile/oedipusnj.bsky.social) said on Bluesky, "Any description no matter how delivered is better than none."  ## How to add alt text in your image on Bluesky. After uploading an image to your post, before pressing "Post," click on the ALT button on your image. That will open up a window where you can type in. your alt text. As Celia Lake points out in "[Alt-Text and the Author](https://www.celialake.com/2023/07/alt-text-and-the-author/)", good alt-text is based on context. "You generally want to describe what would matter to someone looking at the image, in the context you’re writing in." **Don't start with all the details.** Start with a summary of what's most important, the basic details. After that, you can add any complicated details later; this way people have the option to skip the details after they get the info they want. ## Alt-text tips for artists. I love Nick Tankard's (aka [@nicktankard.bsky.social](https://bsky.app/profile/nicktankard.bsky.social)) alt-text for his (amazing) art. Nick was kind enough to answer my questions about his process for coming up with alt-text; [you can see the thread here](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/post/3lgl6icr4zc2v). Nick: "I’m never sure if my alt-text is any good or of use but I have it set up where I can’t send the post until I’ve done alt-text so that I don’t forget, that helps. I write new text every time, that way it keeps it fresh and maybe I’ll see something new too." Nick says he tries to describe the colours he uses ("it's usually black & white with me"), what equipment/technique he used, a loose description of the image, and "perhaps what the mood is." He says he also tries to be "humorous and inclusive" so that his alt-text descriptions aren't "too dry." ![[NickTankard_Alt-Text-flattened-800.jpg|450]] For those who can't read the sample alt-text in the image above, it reads: "*A pen, watercolour and acrylics illustration of a bloke with a very curly beard and Tin Tin style tuft of hair. He is taking a quick break as he has reached the outer edges of a woodland, he balances one foot on tangled tree roots and uses a walking stick to add further balance. He has a backpack and lamp on his back, behind him sunlight streams through the branches of trees. The man is in shades of blue and black, the trees are reds, lilac and pale orange.*" Some tips from [An Attempted Guide To Writing Effective Alt and Descriptive Text For Art](https://mannequinrentals.help/2024/03/21/an-attempted-guide-to-writing-effective-alt-and-descriptive-text-for-art/) by [@mannequinrentals.help](https://bsky.app/profile/mannequinrentals.help) and [How To Write Alt Text For Amateur Art](https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-for-amateur-art/) by Veroniiica: - Alt-text for amateur art has space for artistic freedom BUT the only "rule" is that alt-text needs to be written with visually impaired audiences in mind, aiming to provide additional description for those who may have trouble seeing it. (Veroniiica uses the phrase "amateur art" to describe art that is shared primarily on social media platforms) - Pretend you're describing your piece to an art gallery over the phone. What essential info do they need to hear to understand the image and context? - Helpful info to include: artwork medium, "first impression," interesting details. See article links above for more suggestions. ## Alt-text tips for book people. Looking for examples of book covers and alt-text? [See this community-sourced thread](https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com/post/3lgnywhjyg22t). For a book cover, include: 1. Title 2. Book credits 3. Short description of the cover illustration/graphic elements/"first impression." Thanks to [Paul Vinelli for providing the following example](https://bsky.app/profile/paulvinelli.bsky.social/post/3lgqrlmu74c2j): ![[Alt-Text-Example_FiveStories_PaulVinelli-flat800.jpg|450]] ALT text reads: "Cover of Five Stories by Ellen Weinstein. The cover shows a Lower East Side tenement building with a Pickles store on the bottom and the faces of 5 children from different generations on each floor of the building. Around the building are families, cars, dancers and foods from different eras, and in the background are more tenement buildings and the tops of the New York skyline." Thanks to [Talis Kimberley for providing another example of book cover alt-text](https://bsky.app/profile/taliskimberley.bsky.social/post/3lgqu6nfpsc2a): ![[AltText_TheStarlightBarking_DodieSmith_TalisKimberley-flat800.jpg|450]] ALT text reads: "A weathered Puffin imprint paperback copy of Dodie Smith’s ‘The Starlight Barking’; on a blue-grey background, the words are chased round by a charming parade of assorted dogs in a slightly cartoonish style. There are stars. Two Dalmatians feature - they’re looking at each other affectionately." Read Celia Lake's excellent blog post with [alt-text tips for authors](https://www.celialake.com/2023/07/alt-text-and-the-author/). For cover descriptions, Celia aims for a 2-3 sentence cover description. Her pro tip: when writing the blurb and other marketing material for her books, she also writes up the alt-text for the cover. This way, she can just copy and paste it whenever she uses an image of the cover. ## If you see someone neglect to add alt-text, don't be a jerk. Instead of scolding them, add a useful image description in a reply. "If you want to actually help visually-impaired people, just HELP. Don't be an asshole," says [Adrienne](adrienneleigh.bsky.social) on Bluesky. Adrienne [points out](https://bsky.app/profile/adrienneleigh.bsky.social/post/3l3lv52ga7d2n) that some people cannot easily do it because of bad device access, neurodivergence, or other reasons. Another great suggestion from Adrienne: If you are going to share something and you see it contains an un-described image, you can quote-share it instead, and add a description yourself in the post. > [!NOTE] This is NOT an official Bluesky resource! > Be aware that this is a living vault, very much a work-in-progress. It is NOT meant to be a 100% accurate and finished resource. Please note that these tips are just based on my own experience. What works for me may not work for you. Feel free to send me feedback via [[Contact Debbie]] > ## Blog posts about using alt-text on Bluesky [Hi, Bluesky. It's time we had a chat about alt text](https://eustace.link/hi-bluesky-its-time-we-had-a-chat-about-alt-text/). - by @eustace.link. Also see [Hi, Bluesky. Let's have another chat about alt text](https://eustace.link/hi-bluesky-lets-have-another-chat-about-alt-text/) and [Hi, Bluesky. Your post is NOT too long for alt text](https://eustace.link/hi-bluesky-your-post-is-not-too-long-for-alt-text/), also by Eustace. ## Bluesky tools for encouraging or using alt-text [Bluesky Alt Text Rating](https://dame.is/ratingalttext) - Find out how consistently you use alt text! ## Bluesky threads about using alt-text [A Simple Guide To Providing Useful ALT on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:np4m554rufivddoswmjmv6wa/post/3jywm7v5vtl2y) - by @oedipusnj.bsky.social [Thread about writing effective alt and descriptive text for art on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/mannequinrentals.help/post/3koa2xtpwou26) - by @mannequinrentals.help [Great explainer graphic on why alt-text is useful](https://bsky.app/profile/dremenec.com/post/3l7m5k5yfbk2a) - by @dremenec.com ## Alt text resources [How to write alt text and image descriptions for the visually impaired](https://www.perkins.org/resource/how-write-alt-text-and-image-descriptions-visually-impaired/) - Perkins School For The Blind [Write helpful Alt Text to describe images](https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/describe-content-images) - Digital Accessibility, Harvard University [Alt-Text and the Author](https://www.celialake.com/2023/07/alt-text-and-the-author/) - by Celia Lake [Writing Effective alt text and descriptive text for art](https://mannequinrentals.help/2024/03/21/an-attempted-guide-to-writing-effective-alt-and-descriptive-text-for-art/) - A Feral Mannequin Production [How to write alt text for amateur art](https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-for-amateur-art/) - Veroniiiica: Veronica With Four Eyes, who has [many excellent posts about Alt Text](https://veroniiiica.com/media-accessibility/alt-text/), including [how to write alt text for digital comics](https://veroniiiica.com/how-to-write-alt-text-digital-comics/). [Tips for Writing Alt Text (HTML & Accessibility)](https://rightbadcode.com/tips-for-writing-alt-text) - by Homer Gaines [Accessible Social Media](https://apln.ca/accessible-social-media/) - APLN (Accessible Publishing Learning Network) > [!warning] Apologies for the lack of alt text for images in this Guide > I'm still learning, and am trying to figure out a reliable way of adding alt text via Obsidian. I've been trying to edit the markdown by hand, but am having issues. 😢 I may end up just adding the text description after each image.