[META] We should help transcribe our memes for RBlind!
In light of recently reported news with the loss of r/TranscribersOfReddit , I think we should pickup the habit of transcribing our memes for our fellow developers who may be visually impaired. Check the article linked by this post titled "Reddit is about to get a little less accessible" for more context.
Here is an Archived snapshot of r/TranscribersOfReddit 's wiki that we could use to learn best practices:
Some examples for reference, but perhaps it might be better to include them directly into the body text of the post?
Unlike Reddit, URL posts in Lemmy can include user provided text, not just a title, making it easier for screen readers to discover in the page.
![[META] We should help transcribe our memes for RBlind!](https://programming.dev/pictrs/image/5688a622-4634-4ffd-acaf-df2dba12297c.jpeg)
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/23/23771396/reddit-subreddit-community-transcribers-accessibilityOpen linkView original on programming.dev150
Comments16
I asked the mods of r/transcribersOfReddit, and they said we could use the templates as long as we changed/removed the footer where it mentions the subreddit.
Image Transcription: Discord
/u/Blue
Would it be okay for me to use the templates on lemmy? I'm willing to change the footers.
/u/MurdoMaclachlan [mod] ...
Absolutely! As long as you aren't using the footer, because that signifies official transcriptions, you can use the templates wherever you want to.
I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too!
Do you know if they have they shown any interest to moving to lemmy or anywhere else in the Fediverse?
Hi, moderator of Transcribers of Reddit here!
TL;DR: It's just not feasible with the resources available to us.
It's theoretically possible we could migrate to the Fediverse, and it's an option we investigated. We can't 100% exclude that we never will migrate anywhere, but I think it's very unlikely we will.
The jist of it comes down to this: the infrastructure that we've built to keep our community running smoothly on Reddit has taken years to get as stable as it is now. A large amount of that would have to be completely re-written for a different API, and we just don't have the resources for that.
There's also the fact to consider that everywhere else, Fediverse included, is already leaps and bounds more accessible than Reddit. (The very existence of this post evidences that much of the userbase is more aware of its necessity, and that's a great thing!)
Migration to somewhere else would take a long time and a huge amount of effort, and we only have one primary developer, who has an IRL job and life to attend to, and thus can't reasonably devote the amount of time and effort that would be required.
Hugely appreciate all the work you’ve done. Even if not by direct means, I’m certain your work will inspire new iterations in new communities.
Thank you. I definitely hope so; one of the things we set out to was inspire similar accessibility efforts elsewhere, so it would be great to see it happen.
Awh, that's too bad; I get what you're saying. Thank you for your efforts!
Here's a link to their statement: https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/comments/14ggf8k/the_future_of_transcribers_of_reddit/
TL;DR: We are closing due to changes in the platform, we do not have plans for another project in the future.
@[email protected] should we make a community for transcriptions? I'm willing to contribute.
Yes
From the article linked by the post:
Someone should make a PR to lemmy to allow adding alt text to the images, and a tip to suggest users add it if they upload an image
I agree! I thought maybe something like this:
https://www.astica.org/vision/describe/
would help streamline/ automate the process, but I think it's not quite accurate enough yet, based on the results.
Better yet, we can also add it to the alt Text if we're posting the image ourselves.
