Accessibility
Accessibility is really an issue of ableism. As a highly privileged able-bodied person, I feel it is my duty to provide these features for those I oppress. Just because I can see an image or detect sarcasm does not mean that everyone can.
This is a blog for everyone.
Current features:
Image descriptions are necessary to make this blog more accessible to those who cannot see images clearly (if at all). These descriptions are also necessary for text-only browsers and slower connections, as well as people who deliberately turn off images to avoid triggering seizures or nausea.
I also try to make my descriptions tentative on gender, because gender identity is never obvious from how people look. To prevent misgendering, I give details on the physical features and clothing of people as the cues that sighted people would otherwise pick up on, and nothing more.
I am not a particularly visual person, and in fact I am introverted to the point of finding the external world difficult to describe. This may explain why my descriptions are brief or sometimes missing.
Videos are usually described only by their author and title. Though I commend the use of transcripts, and would link to those created by others, I cannot provide this feature at this time.
I strongly recommend you help to make Tumblr more accessible by writing your own image descriptions. If you don’t have the time or spoons/mental energy, at least leave descriptions when you reblog images from others.
An example of image descriptions can be found here.
I have also taken note of suggestions made by the American Foundation for the Blind and will change my habits accordingly.
I have decided to put as many animated GIFs as I can behind a cut. The reason for this can be found in this series of posts. The basic idea is that they can trigger migraines and nausea, as well as affecting attention in people with ADD and autism.
Browser methods to prevent image animation can be found in this nicocoer post.
As an accessibility feature for neuroatypical people, or when it is not obvious, sarcasm is indicated within ~tildes~ or punctuated by a bracketed exclamation mark (!).
An example of sarcasm indication can be found here.
Because people with dysphoria/PTSD/phobias suffer hugely when they come across triggering material, warning them about this content becomes an accessibility issue. For more information on why trigger warnings are necessary, see the example below.
An example of trigger warnings can be found here.
See also: The Ableism of anti-Trigger Warning sentiment.
In accordance with this excellent tal9000 post, I will try to reduce aggressive language as an accessibility feature. This is also a privilege point, because I should not appropriate the rage of other marginalised groups.
To quote the aforementioned post:
…deliberately triggering someone (and, if you know aggression is a trigger for someone, being excessively aggressive at them is being deliberately triggering) is not OK, either.
But that’s a matter of accessibility; constructive criticism is supposed to be accessible to the person being criticized, and if it’s triggering, it’s inaccessible. Other times, anger and aggression are necessary to show how important the issue is.
