This *very* important tidbit came from Nisi Shawl, and is a great reminder of how just a few extra steps (and minor annoyances on our part) can completely improve someone else’s experience on BlueSky. I am of the firm belief that a significant portion of us do tend to try to accommodate for differently “abled” people when we’re consciously aware of those “limitations”.

The issue is that many of us (myself included) do not actively speak up when we need those accommodations. In NCIS: New Orleans “In Plain Sight” episode (Season 5, Episode 18), Daryl “Chill” Mitchell’s character (Patton Plame) had an absolutely BRILLIANT quote that applies:

But society trains people to look right through us. If they look at us at all. ( scoffs ) We hide in plain sight.

#MindBLOWN

On BlueSky, there’s one small change we can do to ensure we’re each doing our part to make sure BlueSky is accessible for those who are visually impaired and using screen readers: Forcing the usage of Alt text on images (GIFs, too) and videos. The suggestion is from Nisi, word for word:

All my Newskies: I implore you to go to your account’s settings icon, click the thing and choose accessibility, then fix it so you CANNOT post an image without alt text. I am visually impaired (as are many using this app), and alt text is my friend. And my friend is your friend too. Right?

I have made that change, too. Not just on my account, but on the @FearlessFriday.com account, as well. And even more significantly: Within the website integration for Fearless Fridays, I’ll even be using Alt text in the Team vs Team images/posts that are automatically pushed from the main website.

With a little extra work on our part, we can make sure we’re as inclusive as possible.