Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Are groups like r/TranscribersOfReddit useful for screenreader users? Also some questions about images on social media in general (self.Blind)
submitted by Ten086
Hello! I'm sighted and have seen a lot of r/TranscribersOfReddit comments around recently. I thought this was really cool at first, but then I wondered if those comments get buried in the midst of hundreds of comments on popular posts and might be hard to find, and it might be hard to get transcriptions for more niche subreddits or posts. So how useful are the transcriptions for screenreader users?
Also, how often do you guys browse through images on Reddit or other social media in the first place? I thought screenreader users might just stick to text-based subreddits instead and not have much interest in looking for image posts if the alt text is often missing or lacking and transcriptions are hard to find. If you do consume a lot of image-based media, do you usually just look for transcriptions or ask someone who's sighted to describe the image for you?
Sorry for my complete lack of knowledge about this--I've watched a few videos about people who are blind using laptops and phones but haven't seen much about images specifically. I was just thinking about how many memes are image-based today and was wondering how these could be made more accessible.
Also, how often do you guys browse through images on Reddit or other social media in the first place? I thought screenreader users might just stick to text-based subreddits instead and not have much interest in looking for image posts if the alt text is often missing or lacking and transcriptions are hard to find. If you do consume a lot of image-based media, do you usually just look for transcriptions or ask someone who's sighted to describe the image for you?
Sorry for my complete lack of knowledge about this--I've watched a few videos about people who are blind using laptops and phones but haven't seen much about images specifically. I was just thinking about how many memes are image-based today and was wondering how these could be made more accessible.
DariusA92 6 points 2y ago
I mostly stick to text-based subreddits, but Google Chrome for Windows, the browser I usually surf Reddit with, has a feature that automatically adds AI generated description to images without alt-text. It also uses OCR technology to recognize the text in images, like memes and such and add them to the description. It's generally helpful, especially the OCR thing.
Ten086 [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Oh that's really neat! That makes sense that OCR is helpful for memes with text, can you even start to recognize popular meme formats from similar descriptions lol? The AI generated descriptions is really cool too! Are they actually decently accurate or kind of hit or miss?
DariusA92 2 points 2y ago
They aren't terribly descriptive, but at least they give you a hint of what is there in the picture. The OCR thing works very well, even with other languages. I'm not into memes much, but when I encounter one I at least understand the message it's sending.
bradley22 5 points 2y ago
I don’t use it but I think others find the sub useful.
I use OCR with NVDA for images with text.
I use OCR with NVDA for images with text.
Ten086 [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Oh neat! I have heard that the transcriptions are also helpful for people on mobile when images won't load so I guess they can be handy for everyone sometimes
bradley22 2 points 2y ago
They can be :)
siriuslylupin6 3 points 2y ago
I don’t do subs with a lot of pictures besides this I mostly do typology jungian psych type work. Or self development yes you will have meems and pictures but still very accessible you don’t need those to understand or to really participate unless you want to play with meems which I don’t. The more serious ones don’t even have much of that there was a table I couldn’t see at all but yeah...... there was one chart I may post for description somewhere but I think it is probably made in to text it’s not really a picture but just image of the chart.
NovemberGoat 3 points 2y ago
/r/TOR_Archive collates all the transcribed memes into one convenient sub to browse through. Anything visual that doesn't have a description can get one through the wonderful humans at /r/DescriptionPlease.
Generally, if a sub is predominantly image-based, I'll give it a pass. The only one I'm currently subscribed to is /r/Lockpicking because of the detailed conversations that are often had in comments. If they don't mention the specific lock pictured, someone will at least mention a similar model. I'm still quite the novice, so I'm not too fussed at this point.
For subs that aren't exclusively text-based, I'm comfortable with about up to a 60-40 split, with text in the majority. As long as images aren't focal point of the sub, then I can see past them without much bother.
Meme formats are something that needs to be described each time. OCR programs and apps just spit out text without much formatting beyond paragraphs or the occasional table now and again.
I hope this helps.
Generally, if a sub is predominantly image-based, I'll give it a pass. The only one I'm currently subscribed to is /r/Lockpicking because of the detailed conversations that are often had in comments. If they don't mention the specific lock pictured, someone will at least mention a similar model. I'm still quite the novice, so I'm not too fussed at this point.
For subs that aren't exclusively text-based, I'm comfortable with about up to a 60-40 split, with text in the majority. As long as images aren't focal point of the sub, then I can see past them without much bother.
Meme formats are something that needs to be described each time. OCR programs and apps just spit out text without much formatting beyond paragraphs or the occasional table now and again.
I hope this helps.
Ten086 [OP] 3 points 2y ago
This is super informative, thank you so much!! It's been really interesting to learn about different peoples' experiences!
And wow, lockpicking is a really cool hobby--have you heard of the LockPickingLawyer on YouTube? That's as much as I know about it, he has some hilarious April Fools videos LOL
And wow, lockpicking is a really cool hobby--have you heard of the LockPickingLawyer on YouTube? That's as much as I know about it, he has some hilarious April Fools videos LOL
NovemberGoat 3 points 2y ago
You're more than welcome. Negotiating the ever changing visual components of internet culture can be really daunting at times, but it can be quite freeing when you discover a cool workaround or come across great allies in the wild.
LPL is incredible. Aside from talks on physical security by Deviant Olam, his was the only locksport related content I felt comfortable viewing on Youtube when I started lurking almost a year ago. His presentation style informs the informed without alienating those who aren't. It's a hobby I'm glad I fell into. Gonna get brave soon and finally buy my first practice locks and pick set.
LPL is incredible. Aside from talks on physical security by Deviant Olam, his was the only locksport related content I felt comfortable viewing on Youtube when I started lurking almost a year ago. His presentation style informs the informed without alienating those who aren't. It's a hobby I'm glad I fell into. Gonna get brave soon and finally buy my first practice locks and pick set.
MostlyBlindGamer 3 points 2y ago
I can see enough to browse image based subs (blindness and visual impairment are a spectrum) and always appreciate transcriptions when I find them.
I suppose they could be pinned by mods.
Memes can be pretty tough and even screenshots of Twitter posts and text messages get tiring with all the zooming and panning.
I suppose they could be pinned by mods.
Memes can be pretty tough and even screenshots of Twitter posts and text messages get tiring with all the zooming and panning.
Ten086 [OP] 3 points 2y ago
That makes sense, thank you for the info! Just curious about zooming--is it better or worse on mobile compared to desktop? I'd imagine touchscreen would be easier and you can move the screen closer or farther from your eyes more easily, but it would interfere with using something like TalkBack on Android or whatever the iPhone equivalent is?
MostlyBlindGamer 3 points 2y ago
No problem.
I do almost all of my Redditing on Android. I only use screen readers on bad days when magnification isn't enough, so they don't really interfere.
Full screen magnification that follows the mouse is available on all major desktop operating systems. You can even zoom in and out with the scroll wheel and modifiers. It's basically just as easy as on mobile.
If you're on Windows just press Windows + Plus. Minus to zoom out and Escape to quit.
I do almost all of my Redditing on Android. I only use screen readers on bad days when magnification isn't enough, so they don't really interfere.
Full screen magnification that follows the mouse is available on all major desktop operating systems. You can even zoom in and out with the scroll wheel and modifiers. It's basically just as easy as on mobile.
If you're on Windows just press Windows + Plus. Minus to zoom out and Escape to quit.
CloudsOfMagellan 2 points 2y ago
I use dystopia for reddit, one of its features is that it brings transcriptions to the top comment
That being said I've only ever seen a few transcriptions and so while the sub and the idea is good it currently doesn't have the resources to be that helpful
That being said I've only ever seen a few transcriptions and so while the sub and the idea is good it currently doesn't have the resources to be that helpful
Ten086 [OP] 3 points 2y ago
Oh that's convenient! I hope it gains more traction, it seems like it has a lot of potential
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