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Remove the timer before saving a post when an image has no alt text
FR: Remove the timer before saving a post when an image in a post has no alt text.
Currently, when one saves a post that has an image with no alt text, one gets this message:
- It looks like you're posting an image with no alt text. Alt text is important for accessibility. Consider adding alt text to the images in your post - read this help article for details and help writing alt text.
and has to wait ~1 or 2s before being able to save the post.
2 answers
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Please include alt text
I would much prefer that all images in posts have alt text. The help article linked from that message explains the benefits.
I don't know how many current users use a screen reader or other assistive technology, but this number is likely to grow as the Codidact communities grow. Alt text helps not only today's readers, but future readers too.
I can also give an example of how alt text benefits me personally. If I am travelling by train in some places the data connection can be very slow, making an image take minutes to load. In the meantime, I can still understand the intention of the post author if there is alt text, avoiding me thinking that the post needs editing, or downvoting, or a comment that makes no sense to people who can see the image.
Please add alt text wherever you can in your own posts, and please edit other posts to include alt text (or comment to ask the author if the intention of the image is unclear). If an image is purely for decoration and missing it out would not detract from understanding the post, it's better to delete the alt text, so it's set to nothing rather than leaving it as the default "Image_alt_text". That way screen readers will correctly ignore it, and people with slow data connection will not be left wondering if the missing image labelled "Image_alt_text" was something relevant. Empty alt text is appropriate for decorative images, so if you do this, you won't get the reminder message.
Let's not be pushy
I like the reminder to add alt text. I want to add alt text to every image I add to a post, but I'm also forgetful, so sometimes the reminder is the reason my post gets alt text. However, I want this to be a reminder (a positive thing), not a pressure (which I would see as a negative thing). I want anyone to be able to save a post, even if it is not perfect, and then others can edit to improve it over time, including adding alt text.
If we had a 60 second delay before allowing a user to save a post without alt text, we would be leaving the choice open, but adding significant pressure to add alt text to avoid the delay. I would see this as a Deceptive Pattern and would object strongly to it, even for pressuring a user to do something beneficial like adding alt text. I don't feel nearly as strongly about a delay of only a second or two, but ideally I would prefer it to be removed so that the reminder is an honest reminder, not a reminder with a subtle extra pressure.
I would like the 1 second delay to be removed
Having tested this on a fast computer on both Firefox and Chromium, the delay does seem consistently longer than I would expect if not deliberate, so I checked the code.
If missing alt text is detected, the Save button is disabled, and the warning message is displayed, and the Save button is set to be enabled again after 1 second. I propose that we remove this 1 second delay.
2 comment threads
While there are reasons to include alt text, nanny-ware that tries to enforce such things is just annoying and treats people like children. It probably has the opposite effect in that it's more likely to foster a "screw you" attitude than the compliance it seeks.
Lose the timeout.
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