#accessibility in fandom

[forwhomthejaketolls]

i care about accessibility for all. that will never waver.

[livingmeatloaf]

PSA to artists arriving from twitter: PLEASE add image descriptions to your art!! You know your art best, so you can describe it the best! It can be a simple "Mobei-Jun squeezing Shang Qinghua like a hamster-shaped stress ball" or something more complex like "A digital illustration in a painterly style. Lan Wangji gazes lovingly at Wei Wuxian. They stand in a field at sunset, wearing their donghua outfits." That second example is still pretty simple compared to some I have seen and done. Alt text is great, a description in *normal* plain text under the picture is great. You can include the name of the media the characters are from if you want, or keep it pretty bare bones. Just please please make your art accessible!

From a personal standpoint, I am way more likely to reblog a picture that has alt text or an image ID.

If you need a guide for adding descriptions, there are a bunch of accessibility blogs on here that have great guides, like @can-i-make-image-descriptions and @accessibleaesthetics

I'm tagging this for visibility in the fandom circles I run in. Please feel free to reblog and spread this!

[brokenzipperlips]

“There’s absolutely no reason not to—!”

I can find a reason in two seconds

“But you can buy—!”

Oh, you just gave me a reason, thanks. Not the only reason, mind, but one of them.

“Or you can access it for free at—!”

What about the means to access it, huh? That costs.

Or the time? Or the energy? Slipping into fanfic between meetings or tasks is usually easier than going to the source material at the same time.

“This website has all—!”

Except subtitles.

[carpooling-the-internet]

How does one actually get into recording podfics? Like obv you ask the permission of the author but is posting whatever you end up recording to ao3 a faux pas if you don’t actually know if you’ll ever complete it? And like what if the sound quality is bad?

I want to try it but I don’t want to commit to something that I maaaaybe probably can’t follow all the way thru. (The fic im thinking of is novel length)

[wolfstar-in-color]

Resources Wednesday: Mindfully Writing Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled Characters

This week for Resources Wednesday we want to talk about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and writing characters with IDD more mindfully!

The first resource we'd like to recommend is this very helpful list of 7 Tips for Writing a Character With an Intellectual Disability. This list addresses everything from a brief explanation of the different kinds of IDD to a primer on research and world building.

Second, we’d like to talk briefly about Mental Age Theory, and the harm it does to folks with IDD, because it’s so prevalent in works/discussions involving IDD. Mental Age Theory is the concept behind phrases like “he’s thirteen, but has the mind of a seven-year-old”. It’s profoundly dehumanizing, and you can read more about that here!

Alright, friends! Got anything you’d like to add? We’d love to hear about it!!

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

So I'm a big big big proponent of accessibility, both on the internet and off it, and I'm also a writer (psst: feel free to check out my fics on AO3). It's been a concern for me that not everyone can enjoy fics, whether that's because of dyslexia or related things, eyes that are sensitive to screens/vision issues, a shorter attention span, a dislike for reading, or anything else. And this makes me unhappy! Fandom has had such a transformative influence on my life, and I want everyone who's interested to be able to enjoy all sorts of fanworks. So I did some research, and I found out about podfics--essentially audiobook versions of fanfiction.

And then, my friends, I got *sparkles* inspired. I've got a versatile voice. I've got acting training. I love to read out loud and make up voices. Why shouldn't I extend myself to another area and not just write fics, not just enjoy them, but read them for others? It would be helpful. It would be fun. And I could help make fandom a more accessible place.

No! No, no, no! my severe anxiety screams. You aren't good enough! You'll sound weird! No one will want to listen to you! It might be dangerous! Don't do that! It'll end badly! No no no no no no!

You get the picture. :\

So, in light of this, would anybody potentially have interest in listening to me read? Does anyone who's done podfics before have tips or advice? Anybody just wanna say something to me about this? I just don't want to be alone with my creeping anxiety anymore.

[wolfstar-in-color]

Image Description Tip Sheet!

So far this week, we’ve talked about the necessity of image descriptions and offered up some resources for writing them! Today, we thought we’d condense some of the best tips and tricks we’ve come across into one post, which you can easily reference and share (hint, hint!!). So without further ado, we present Wolfstar in Color’s Image Description Tip Sheet(tm)!

IDs are most commonly put at the beginning or end of a post in [] brackets. 

No need to start with “an image/video/gifset of...”, just jump right into describing what’s in the visual (e.g. “Sirius sits in front of a fireplace, his head in his hands”). 

When you’re done, add “end of image description” just inside the close bracket. 

Put the most important info first. For example, don’t start with “the landscape in the background depicts a rainy day” if the main focal point of the image is Remus and Sirius kissing in the rain. Ask yourself what your eye goes to first when you look at the image, and start with that.

Especially with fanart, don’t shy away from describing the “uncomfortable” parts of an image - race, gender, body shape, nsfw elements, etc. 

Regarding race, If you know the race of the person(s) depicted, say that (”Remus is white”). If you don’t, describe skintone, culturally relevant clothing, etc. (”Remus has light skin and wears a Star of David around his neck”). 

Regarding gender, the same thing applies. If you know the gender of the person depicted, say that. If you don’t, describe their clothing, makeup, etc. Regarding pronouns, it seems to be generally acceptable to use “they/them” pronouns for a person of unknown gender. 

If the visual is nsfw, start the image description with that information. Then, go on to describe it the same way you would any other image, as graphically as you’d like!

Don’t forget to describe emotions and facial expressions! For example, “Sirius looks down at Remus, wearing an expression of admiration and joy and smiling widely”. 

Same goes for any actions or interactions occurring in the visual. Sometimes, you’re not entirely sure what’s going on. We here at WiC often reach out to the original creator of the visual for clarification. In lieu of that, just do your best! It’s okay!

For videos and gifsets, even if they are captioned already, put the dialogue within the image description. For example, “James looks at the camera and smiles. The text across the gif reads ‘mischief managed’”.

Don’t forget to include music and background noise in your description. 

Have fun with the process! Use it as an opportunity to engage with the visual more, notice things you hadn’t noticed, learn some new words and descriptors, etc! And thank you for making our community more accessible! 

[wisterianightmare]

Listen, if you’re a tumblr fanfic writer who puts The Character’s name and/or dialogue in a different color every time it appears in your fic the unfortunate truth is that I’m not going to read it. Nothing makes me scroll faster.

I have literal brain damage that just does not allow me to register the words behind that different color when it’s in the middle of a block of text. It isn’t even a visual impairment (my brain just blue screens and cannot process the information) but also, this isn’t friendly for those who do have visual impairments. And yes, screen readers exist, but for me it kills the appeal of reading here on tumblr. Just because the accessibility tool exists doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about how you’re making things more inaccessible to your audience, especially if you’re interested in broader engagement.

I know it’s aesthetic, but disabled people would love to read your stories too.