Starting out with image descriptions: formatting
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Continuing my series about accessibility, I have decided to explain how an ID should be put in a post. I see a lot of people in here who already do image descriptions but aren't sure how to properly format them, or who format them in a way that isn't accessible. I decided to make a post to explain the basics on how to make IDs.
This won't explain what to write when you're making IDs; just how to properly put your ID in the post in a way that is accessible. For more resources on IDs, you can go to my "accessibility" and "reference" tags.
1. Text ID vs Alt Text
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A text ID is an ID you write on the body of the post, visible to everyone. Alt text, on the other hand, is an ID you code in along with the image, so it isn't visible for people with screenreaders, but people with it can click on the image and get that ID read out loud.
Tumblr offers the possibility to add alt text to your images, if you click on the three dots that appear on the corner of the image on mobile. Except... Oops, it doesn't always work
As with many Tumblr features, Tumblr alt text is known to glitch, and the entire alt text might disappear or not be available to users without the O.P necessarily knowing. The reasons for this range from "the post was edited later" to "reblogs ate the alt text" to "damned if I know". So, it is unreliable, and that alone is a reason why it should not be used
There are, however, other important reasons! Namely, that alt text isn't actually accessible to a lot of visually impaired people. This is because alt text can only be accessible via a screenreader, since the ID will only be available in the post's code. And not every visually impaired person uses a screenreader, including blind people
There are other accessibility features that legally blind and visually impaired people use, such as: bigger text, bigger display, high contrast text, the enhance button, color correction, and more. These people still need IDs (including of screenshots of text! They need these accessibility features to see text, so if you post a screenshot of regular text, they can't read it), but cannot see them if you only put it on alt text
Not to mention that some blind people cannot use a screenreader even if they preferred that to other accessibility features, because they are Deafblind, have auditory processing disorder, or simply cannot listen to something at the moment for whatever reason
Tumblr is working on a feature that allows alt text to show up in the body of the post so people can read it normally, but while it isn't available to everyone, alt text is not accessible. It is not accessible to Deafblind people, people with APD, and people who prefer not to use screenreaders, which is a choice they have the right to make. Therefore, using it is not a good accessibility practice and using plain text IDs is preferable
There is also an important argument, which is that alt text is designed to be invisible to sighted folks, and that in itself is problematic because it discourages people to think about accessibility, recognize when something is or isn't accessible, and start incorporating accessibility practices into their lives. I am a strong supporter of this argument, which is another reason why I don't think I'll ever advocate for alt text. This part, however, isn't a consensus. The other parts are
2. Placement of the ID
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Imagine that Tumblr's newest glitch is that any images added to a post end up at the bottom. So you see a text post that makes use of several images, but every time there is an image in the middle, you just get text that says "image" and you have to scroll down, find the image in question, then scroll back up
This is the experience you are giving blind and visually impaired people when you leave your IDs at the bottom of the post
Folks, when you add an image (or more) to a text post, you don't put it in a random place, do you? You put it in the ideal place for someone to comprehend your text. There is a logical, comprehensible sequence between text and image, and the image is right where it's supposed to be
Therefore, it is also where the ID should be
Please understand me clearly: an ID is their user's image. It substitutes the image for them. When you are writing one, it is helpful to ask yourself, "what would this look like if there was no image, only the ID?". Because that's what it's effectively like for people who need IDs
If the ID is anywhere that is not directly over or under the image, it's in the wrong place. If a place is where the image should be, then it's also where the ID should be
And yes, this includes when you post an image post with just a one-line caption underneath. Most of the time, the caption doesn't make sense without knowledge of the image. If you didn't post the caption before the image, there's no reason to put the caption before the ID
3. About "ID" and "End ID"
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I occasionally see people posting IDs without the "ID" and "End ID" at the beginning and end, so I thought it'd be helpful to explain why they are needed.
Without the "ID" at the beginning, someone who can't see your image will not be able to tell that the image is described, and will assume that what you are posting is a caption. Then they will probably skip it, or at least believe they are missing the image's information
There is really no other way to make it obvious that what you are about to post is an image description. And a lot of the time, even reading the ID won't make it obvious that it's an ID if you can't already see the image. This is particularly true when the image in question is a screenshot of text and the ID is just a transcription without information that it's a transcription. Someone who sees that and can't see the image will assume that it's your own caption to the image, which could be literally anything
Similarly, the "End ID" is important for the person to know where the ID ends and the poster's caption or commentary begins. Again, there is no way for them to know otherwise. Not even the paragraph break, because some IDs are longer than a paragraph, especially if it's an image with lots of information, such as an infographic or spreadsheet
Using brackets [] instead of the "ID" and "End ID" is NOT ["not" in caps and bold] an appropriate substitution, because brackets are a form of punctuation, and therefore, screenreaders will just read them as a pause. A pause which they would already have because of the paragraph breaks. So, for screenreader users, they offer absolutely no differentiation
Note: "ID" stands for "Image Description", not "Identification". So you don't need to say "Image ID", as that would be "Image Image Description". That's not a cardinal sin that deeply affects your accessibility or anything, but it's good to know. I was saying "Image ID" for like a year before I realized that and I felt really stupid afterwards, so I thought you'd like to know
4. Formatted text
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I see a lot of people posting their IDs in formatted text (usually tiny text or italics, but occasionally bold, colored text, and others). You should not have your ID in any kind of formatted text
Why? Because most forms of formatted text are unreadable to at least some people with visual impairments, if not all of them. This will generally not be a problem for screenreader users unless you use all caps, stylized fonts, or embedded links. But they will be a problem to users who don't have screenreaders, which, as we've seen before, make up a significant amount of ID users
Legally blind or visually impaired users who don't use screenreaders generally rely on bigger text/display as an accessibility feature. This means that they set their phone to make text bigger for them. If you put your ID in tiny text, you are making the text small all over again. So they won't be able to read it, and your ID will be useless
I have my phone's text and display set to biggest, and Tumblr tiny text looks roughly the same size in that mode as Tumblr regular size in regular mode. That is not big enough for lots of visually impaired people to read; if it was, they wouldn't have their phones set to make text bigger
Similarly, italics make the text look thinner, which is harder for a lot of visually impaired people to read. Bold makes the letters get easily smushed together, which is also hard for some to read. Colored text has a lower contrast, which will also be harder for them to read. Not to mention visually impaired people might have other conditions that affect reading such as color blindness or dyslexia
This is specially harmful if it's long chunks of text. I've seen some people who will put everything that was directly transcribed from the image in bold or italics, and I've even done it myself for a brief period. Please don't do this! It is very hard for a lot of people to read
Every time you mess with formatting on your text, you are basically annulling someone else's accessibility features display. And since Tumblr does not allow users to turn those settings on or off, this is an accessibility issue
Note: not everyone will be negatively impacted by the use of these. Some people even find them helpful, especially if it's to signify key words. But again, since it's impossible to turn it on or off, the best way to do an ID is without formatting, a.k.a in plain text. The exception to this is BlockQuote (a.k.a idented text) and bullet points
To find out more about plain text, you can check out the other post I made about it on the link below
Link
"Do I need to put the ID between brackets?"
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You might have noticed that most people post IDs between brackets, like this: [ID: A pig wearing a baseball hat. End ID]. This might be the most common way of formatting it
It is not, however, necessary. As far as I know, people do this so people who don't need the IDs can easily know where it begins and ends, and skip them. They do not serve any accessibility purpose
Personally I don't use them, and if I want to have a visual cue to show where the ID begins and ends, I put it in BlockQuote. This is not necessary either, although it might help some people with dyslexia and ADHD better organize the contents of the post. It is fine to do, though, as long as it doesn't substitute the "ID" and "End ID"
And that's all, folks! Thanks once again for reading this long post, and I hope it was helpful
TLDR
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You should make your IDs in text, directly under or over the image, with the "ID" and "End ID" at the beginning and end, and without italics, bold, or tiny text. Using brackets isn't necessary but it's okay
