Why YSK: If you want to make Lemmy a more accessible place for all, you need to know how to add labels (aka: “alt text”) to embedded images

As many of you are already aware, you can embed images in comments using the following markdown: ![](https://example.com/image.jpg).

That works, but the image will be left unlabeled which leaves screenreader users out of the conversation. This may seem like a theoretical problem, but it’s not – Lemmy already has an active blind community: https://rblind.com/

So, here’s what you can do to add labels when embedding images:

![Earth viewed from the Moon](https://example.com/image.jpg)

That’s it! Any text within the [] becomes “alt text”, which is what screenreaders use for describing images. It’s a small thing, but it makes a world of difference.

Remember: Reddit took something from many of us here. For some, it was a mobile app. For others, it was the ability to operate their own communities. Comment with solidarity; use alt-text.

  • dom
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    1 year ago

    I tried liftoff and found it was hard to browse compared to jerboa. At least on dark mode. All the test being white and not visually distinct makes it less comfortable to browse than jerboa.

    I’ll have to try connect though