5 ms·

> I'm all for accessibility, but let us decide when to implement it. Which usually means never.

by kolanos 4y ago

googlryas 4y ago
Which just means codebases will be littered with alt="" for no reason.
- abujazar 4y ago
  It's often better to specify alt="" than not at all, because screen readers may use the filename instead if there's no alt attribute.
  - googlryas 4y ago
    That's actually a detriment then, if the "fix" for no a11y makes screen readers think they should use no alt text, instead of some possibly meaningful alternate.
    - Vinnl 4y ago
      The fix for no a11y is to add a11y. In many cases (i.e. the "often" specified by GP), images contain no extra information, in which case you should indicate that by adding alt="". In other cases, you should add an actual description.
      - googlryas 4y ago
        I meant the "fix" of people not caring about a11y(which is why I put it in quotes) and just trying to get their code to compile. If people don't care about a11y, they aren't going to start devoting time to it because a tool puts a slight roadblock in their way - they're just going to try to bypass the tool.
        Vinnl 4y ago
        Sure, but it doesn't really matter what you do for those people; their projects will be inaccessible anyway. For the rest of us, it's a useful reminder.
latchkey 4y ago
Which is ok too. It is far better than encouraging people to write alt="" or alt="asdf". See also (naming things): https://twitter.com/secretGeek/status/7269997868 https://twitter.com/secretGeek/status/7269997868
- lghh 4y ago
  They are encouraging people to write alt text, not encouraging people to write alt="". That's like saying "Typescript just encourages people to make everything `any` instead of defining types. It's a useless addition over JS." Sure, you _could_, but most actually use the actual tool.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- tills13 4y ago
  alt="" has a specific and intentional meaning which is _always_ better for accessibility than an unset alt It's 6 extra characters, you'll survive.

> I'm all for accessibility, but let us decide when to implement it. Which usually means never.

googlryas 4y ago

Which just means codebases will be littered with alt="" for no reason.

abujazar 4y ago
It's often better to specify alt="" than not at all, because screen readers may use the filename instead if there's no alt attribute.
- googlryas 4y ago
  That's actually a detriment then, if the "fix" for no a11y makes screen readers think they should use no alt text, instead of some possibly meaningful alternate.
  - Vinnl 4y ago
    The fix for no a11y is to add a11y. In many cases (i.e. the "often" specified by GP), images contain no extra information, in which case you should indicate that by adding alt="". In other cases, you should add an actual description.
    - googlryas 4y ago
      I meant the "fix" of people not caring about a11y(which is why I put it in quotes) and just trying to get their code to compile. If people don't care about a11y, they aren't going to start devoting time to it because a tool puts a slight roadblock in their way - they're just going to try to bypass the tool.
      - Vinnl 4y ago
        Sure, but it doesn't really matter what you do for those people; their projects will be inaccessible anyway. For the rest of us, it's a useful reminder.

latchkey 4y ago

Which is ok too. It is far better than encouraging people to write alt="" or alt="asdf". See also (naming things): https://twitter.com/secretGeek/status/7269997868 https://twitter.com/secretGeek/status/7269997868

lghh 4y ago
They are encouraging people to write alt text, not encouraging people to write alt="". That's like saying "Typescript just encourages people to make everything `any` instead of defining types. It's a useless addition over JS." Sure, you _could_, but most actually use the actual tool.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
tills13 4y ago
alt="" has a specific and intentional meaning which is _always_ better for accessibility than an unset alt It's 6 extra characters, you'll survive.