Image descriptions on the Fediverse M0YNG.uk

Modified 2022-05-04

Do you use Mastodon or another bit of the Fediverse? Maybe someone asked you to "caption your image" or "add a text description" or "use alt text" and you're not sure what that is, or how.

This page is here to help!

I know that not everyone can describe things, and that's ok! This page is here to help people who want to but don't know how, or want some tips.

⚠️ This is a work in progress ⚠️

NOTE All of the interfaces and apps here are made by people, most of them for free and released as Open Source. If they lack the ability to describe images, that's ok! Maybe go make a feature request, or see if you can add it yourself?

Want to contribute? Toot at me! I'm @[email protected]

What is a "Text Description"?

A text description or caption is exactly what it says it is, a description of an image written as text.

For example this image could be described as "Alex the mastodon.radio mascot. They are a light brown mastodon with floofy hair. They are holding a portable radio in one hoof and have a blue satchel bag over their shoulder"

It's also known as "alt text" or "alternative text" and you might see this term on Twitter, the official mastodon app, and more technical documents.

Why do I care?

Maybe you've never thought about this, but not everyone can see the images you share. That's ok, most people haven't thought about it!

But... not everyone can see the images you share.

Maybe they are blind, and use software (called a Screen Reader) to tell them what is on the screen. Maybe they are on a slow connection and have turned images off to make things load faster, or the images failed to download because they went in a tunnel. Some people even use mastodon from the command line, meaning they can only see text.

By describing the images you post you are ensuring everyone can enjoy them, even if they can't see them!

It can also help people understand the joke, or know what to look for in the image. Don't assume they won't get it so there's no point, let them be the judge of that!

How to write a good one

This can be hard! But you can get better with practice and feedback.

Think about what the image is trying to convey. Using Alex as an example, I mention that they are a mastodon, what colour they are, and what they are holding. I don't mention the background, or exactly how tall they are.

If the image has text in it then you need to copy that out, otherwise people will have no idea what it says! Plus this makes it easier for people to translate the text if they need to.

You don't normally need to say it's an image, the software will tell the user that, and they can often guess! You might way to say what kind of image, for example if it's a paining, or an AI generated digital image, or a sculpture (but you don't need to say it's a photo of a sculpture.)

If you're still not sure, think about what made you want to share the image. Is it a golden sunset over rolling hills? Maybe the V of geese flying in front of the sun? Is there a funny scarecrow in the field?

Describing selfies and photos of people can be very hard.

For example, this photo from The Gender Spectrum Collection comes with the description "A transmasculine person in a winter coat on the sidewalk".

But we could add more detail if it's relevant. For example we could say "A black transmasculine person smiling at the camera. They are wearing round glasses with their hair tied back, and a shiny fur trimmed coat."

If you are describing someone else, it's always best to ask them how they would like to be identified and described!

Maybe you have heard that "One picture is worth ten thousand words" but you don't have to write that much to describe most images!

It's not just for images!

You can add a text description to all media files!

For example you might upload a bit of music, or someone talking, or the sounds around you in a nice place.

You can describe these things too and help out people who can't hear your sound file.

Like images, there are lots of reasons people might not be able to listen to something, maybe they are somewhere quiet and don't have headphones, or somewhere noisy! Maybe the file just won't load, but your description can help make sure they don't miss out.

The same goes for videos, or animated gifs. You can describe these too!

Web interfaces

Mastodon web

1) Add your image

2) Click "✏️ Edit" in the top right

3) Type in the box "Describe for the visually impaired"

4) Click "Apply"

Viewing is harder - you need to hover your mouse over the image and wait for a tooltip to appear.

Misskey

Guide contributed by Purple

1) Attach the image as usual.

2) For each image, right-click it and select "Add caption"

3) Give it a caption and be sure to hit "OK" or it won't save!

Pinafore

1) Add your image

2) Fill in the box that says "Description"

Viewing is harder - you need to hover your mouse over the image and wait for a tooltip to appear.

Brutaldon

1) Find the "Complete toot form" option

2) Fill in the "Describe attachment" field

Viewing is harder - you need to hover your mouse over the image and wait for a tooltip to appear.

Halcyon

1) Add your image

2) Click on the ✏️ icon in the top left

3) Fill in your description and click "✔️ Save"

Cuckoo+

I can't see how to add an image description using Cuckoo+

Android Apps

Tusky

Also: Husky, koyu.space

1) Add your image

2) Tap the "A✔️" button in the bottom right of the image preview

3) Select "Set caption"

4) Fill in the box "Describe for visually impaired" and tap "OK"

5) Notice the "A✔️" button is now blue!

When viewing an image the description is shown at the bottom and can be pulled open to see it all.

Subway Tooter

1) Add your image

2) Tap the image

3) Select "set descriptions (Mastodon 2.0+)

4) Fill in the box "attachment description" and tap "OK"

When viewing a toot with a described image the description will be shown below the image.

Fedilab

1) Add your image

2) Tap on the image (note the red background or outline)

3) Fill in the description and tap "VALIDATE"

4) Notice the image preview now has a green background or outline

When viewing an image the description is shown at the bottom.

Twidere

1) Add your image

2) Tap the pencil icon in the bottom right

3) Tap "Edit description"

4) Type in your description and tap "OK"

It doesn't seem possible to view the description

Mastodon "Official"

1) Add your image

2) Tap "Add image description..."

3) Fill in the box and tap "Save"

4) Notice the description now being shown under the image preview

It doesn't seem possible to view the description.

twitlatte

I can't see a way to add descriptions

Apple Apps

I don't have an AppleFone(tm) so these are all contributed by other people.

Toot! App

Guide contributed by @bezt

1) Add your image by selecting the LIBRARY or CAMERA buttons. (If you haven’t already done so, you will need to give Toot! permission to access your Photos or camera respectively.)

1) As the app instructions suggest, tap on the image preview.

3) Tap on the text at the bottom of the screen and enter the description.

4) Tap anywhere off the text to return to your post.

Desktop Apps

Some of these can also work as Web interfaces, but are mostly aimed at being something you install on your computer.

Hyperspace

1) Add your image

2) Fill in the description at the bottom of the image preview

Sengi

1) Add your image

2) Hover over the preview

3) Type into the box that says "Describe for the visually impaired"

Whalebird

1) Add your image

2) Fill in the "Describe for the visually impaired" bit

Tootle

1) Add your image

2) Fill in the "Describe for the visually impaired" bit

View descriptions by hovering over and waiting for the tooltip.

TUI / CLI

tut

1. press c to Compose a new toot
2. press m to add Media
3. press a to Add the file
4. press e to Edit the description
5. Type your description (probably using vim at this point)
6. save and quit the editor using the sequence
   1. [esc]
   2. :wq [enter]
7. press [esc] to finish editing your media files

Descriptions are shown above the file link when viewing

toot

From the command line:

toot post "hello media" --media path/to/image.png --description "Cool image"

Doesn't appear to be possible from the TUI.

Descriptions are shown above the file link when viewing

Gomphotherium

Can show images, and post them, but I can't work out how to view or add descriptions.

tootstream

Doesn't appear to show descriptions, and doesn't appear to allow adding them to new toots.