starless @starless@pixie.town

@thufie you are right, but also jorts the cat is on mastodon.social.

Do you know if there's a comfy server they might wanna migrate to?

@jacqui oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. I honestly hadn't noticed an increase in uncaptioned images. I agree that fedi is better when more images are described.

It seemed like you were suggesting that someone who doesn't have the energy to fully transcribe an image with lots of text on it shouldn't post it. I'm sorry if I misunderstood.

I know that transcription has been a barrier for me in the past. Knowing that I can just *describe* an image, rather than fully transcribing each diagram, has made me feel more comfortable posting content that communicates a message visually. In the case of a screenshot, a source (the opening paragraph to Moby Dick) can be a bit less effort but still helpful.

It can sometimes be difficult to transcribe things like complicated flow charts, too. Usually, a caption like "a diagram showing that [step] will lead to more kittens, less excess strawberries, and many more toots, along with some really complicated relationships between many different Tumblr memes from 2017. It is very silly." is just fine, even though it can feel a bit like a cop-out.

Would a "complete" transcription help? It can, yeah. There's a chance that a noisy transcription that shows everything but the actual focus of the picture is kinda "buried" might not be as helpful as a briefer description, though. It kinda depends and usually works out best if people use their best judgement.

But yeah, that does totally mean planning on taking a minute or so to describe a picture (if ya can) or to @ someone to help transcribe, and some folks might not be used to that.

If you're curious, there's some resources on writing image descriptions for difficult content I can link, if you'd like. I think NASA had some nice advice? Otherwise, no worries at all. I'm just parroting what I've heard from vision-impaired folks on here over the last year or two.

@MerlinJStar@weirder.earth the caption looks great. :)

@jacqui hey, this seems pretty extreme.

It's OK to summarize stuff if someone doesn't have the energy to caption something with all the text. It's easiest to just copy the text into the description if you can, or to use a transcription tool. There are also groups on here that folks can tag to help, and you can help fill in descriptions in the comment thread for others who didn't have the energy to type up a thorough description, too. IMO, it's better that folks are around, nice, and that there's enough context so that people who can't see the image are still included.

Demanding whole transcription for every post wholesale is kinda ableist-- different groups of folks can have different access needs. Thankfully, it's something that's easy for other folks to help out with. :)

@fack awww, buddy. Don't be so hard on yourself. You are doing your best to do your best for her.

The world isn't something anyone has total control over. Try to accept that you won't be perfect and be a bit gentle. She's a good cat and you're a good cat dad. Don't overthink it. 🖤

@BestGirlGrace (the hinge is a flexible part of the screen. There is a hardware thing that's like a little wide block that prevents it from closing and 'creasing' super duper flat. You can feel it, but it doesn't get in the way. The folding bit is great for selfies since you don't need a stand.)

@BestGirlGrace honestly, it has been great.

I baby mine a little-- I do tend to keep mine closed when I'm not actively using it (to avoid bending it back the other way and to protect the screen from scratches), and I usually rotate it so that the hinge isn't where I usually sit down when it's in my back pocket.

It feels sturdy enough, and being able to 'close' my phone when I'm done with it (but still see notification blurbs on the mini display) is really brain-nice.

It may get a little stiffer in the cold, but I'm not certain yet. It handled a thirty minute walk around ten Fahrenheit just fine, but I haven't done a lot of testing in very cold conditions. I expect it would be fine, though.

@BestGirlGrace

I like my phone and it fits in girlpockets. I don't have a user replaceable battery, but the firmware does do some battery capacity protection. I use a Samsung Galaxy ZFlip 5G. I've had it for about a year ish and like it reasonably, though it took some work to get it less 'noisy'.

@MerlinJStar@weirder.earth Heya! You mentioned soliciting suggestions for a Zoom replacement.

There's a project called Jitsi (https://jit.si) that you can use. It's also self-host-able, if you or your friends are into that, but you can also just use their site. It's not perfect, but it also is not Zoom. :)

@Astroexeter absolutely! Can I read more about what it's an image of/what it was colorized on somewhere? Totally gorgeous stuff.