I may need half a day to describe three measly images; CW: long (almost 1,200 characters), alt-text meta, image description meta
Now I have decided to take a few pictures at #OSFest2023. Which means in a 3-D #VirtualWorld.
Which, in turn, means very long #ImageDescriptions because there's nothing in these pictures that anyone is familiar with. You think 1,500 characters are long? You're cute.
I've been working on it for about an hour. I'm past the 4,000-character mark. Already now, that's too much not only for #Mastodon, but also for #Misskey and default-settings #Firefish. It's way too much for #AltText almost everywhere in the #Fediverse. And I've barely scratched the surface, also because explaining the very setting took more than 3,000 characters already.
Now I'm facing the first challenge. There are four pictures of nebulae. I'll have to identify three of them to be sufficiently informative for curious users, and then I'll have to describe all four of them in all their details for #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired users. And this is what people are the most likely to be familiar with. There are also more than a dozen different spaceships, a space statiion and whatnot.
The things you do for #Accessibility and #Inclusion and to make your pictures understandable for everyone.
Which, in turn, means very long #ImageDescriptions because there's nothing in these pictures that anyone is familiar with. You think 1,500 characters are long? You're cute.
I've been working on it for about an hour. I'm past the 4,000-character mark. Already now, that's too much not only for #Mastodon, but also for #Misskey and default-settings #Firefish. It's way too much for #AltText almost everywhere in the #Fediverse. And I've barely scratched the surface, also because explaining the very setting took more than 3,000 characters already.
Now I'm facing the first challenge. There are four pictures of nebulae. I'll have to identify three of them to be sufficiently informative for curious users, and then I'll have to describe all four of them in all their details for #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired users. And this is what people are the most likely to be familiar with. There are also more than a dozen different spaceships, a space statiion and whatnot.
The things you do for #Accessibility and #Inclusion and to make your pictures understandable for everyone.
Five hours and 18,000 characters so far. Personal record. Maybe Fediverse record for an #ImageDescription. Most recently, about 1,150 characters for a robot that's not much more than a 6-pixel speck in the picture.
And I'm not even half done describing one image. Out of three planned images.
I could just mention what's in the image and be done with it. But that wouldn't help #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired users because they wouldn't know what it looks like. And nobody would even know what it is.
And I'm not even half done describing one image. Out of three planned images.
I could just mention what's in the image and be done with it. But that wouldn't help #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired users because they wouldn't know what it looks like. And nobody would even know what it is.
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Well, keep in mind that sometimes a blind person might simply want to know what’s in the image, and if the description is too long they might not want to wade through it to find out.
If I only mention what is in the images, then #Blind or #VisuallyImpaired users might complain that I don't tell thim what it looks like.
This would definitely matter even if the images were real-life photographs. But they won't be real-life photographs. They will be taken in a virtual 3-D world. A very obscure one. As in, absolutely nothing in these pictures will be familiar for anyone. Except for a few dozen out of over 13 million Fediverse users. Another reason why I'll have to describe and explain everything in an #ImageDescription.
So the first of these three images will have to get descriptions of
the walkway in the foreground (done)
a cubic background for a display (done) including three real-life nebulae (mentioned, but not described yet)
the ground that connects the walkway with the cube (done)
the teleporter in front of the display (done) including descriptions and transcriptions of all labels and buttons (done) and a description of the currently selected preview image (done)
a sign including transcription (done)
three different robots (done)
a black-hole-like object (done)
ten different fictional spaceships (four are done)
the surrounding ground, water and sky
The second image will have to get descriptions of
the walkway in the foreground (covered with the first image)
a cubic background for a display (covered with the first image) including three real-life nebulae (two covered with the first image, one new)
the ground that connects the walkway with the cube (covered with the first image)
the teleporter in front of the display including descriptions and transcriptions of all labels and buttons (only the top label and the four buttons at the bottom are covered with the first image unless I deliberately manipulate the teleporter to show the same as in the first image)
a sign including transcription (only the general look is covered with the first image)
four robots, one of them on a display stand, one in packaging (only one is partially covered with the first image)
an info kiosk
an armed drone
four spaceships
the surrounding ground, water and sky (will be covered with the first image)
The third image will have to get descriptions of
the walkway in the foreground (covered with the first image)
a cubic background for a display (covered with the other images)
the ground that connects the walkway with the cube (covered with the first image)
the teleporter in front of the display including descriptions and transcriptions of all labels and buttons (only the top label and the four buttons at the bottom are covered with the first image unless I deliberately manipulate the teleporter to show the same as in the first image)
two signs including transcription (only the general look of one of them is covered with the first image)
an elaborate space station with numerous writings to transcribe
a small asteroid with a used spaceship dealership on it, including seven spaceships (only two of them are partially covered with the first image), one robot (partly covered with the first two images) and three signs to transcribe
the surrounding ground, water and sky (will be covered with the first image)
Also, I have to mention where these pictures were taken. This is important within the context of the post.
They were taken in a place called Sulfur at an event called OpenSimFest 2023.
Would you know right off the bat what either of them is? No? See, that's why I have to explain that. Without this explanation, nobody would even understand what I'm writing about.
In order to explain it, I have to explain what OpenSim is.
Also, I have to explain why these exhibits matter, who created the items in them, the whole shtick, because it's all important to understand these pictures.
These initial explanations alone take up over 4,200 words.
This is also why I don't write three fully separate, stand-alone image descriptions: I'd have to add this 4,200+-word lead-in to each of them, causing massive redundancy.
This, in turn, is why I can't go gradually into more detail: I have to do the full 4,200+-word lead-in before I can even mention what is in each picture individually. Otherwise, I'd have to do a short lead-in, then describe what is in the first picture (the lead-in will only be part of the description of the first picture), then jump back to a general explanation for all three pictures, then jump back to the first picture. That'd be way too confusing.
Everything concerning all three pictures has to be explained before I can start writing anything about any individual picture.