Talk:Wikimedia Apps/iOS Suggested edits project/Alt Text Experiment

This file is decorative

Hi @ARamadan-WMF & @HNordeen (WMF),

Most images, like this one of a goat, are decorative. Sensory characteristics, hence images, should not be the sole means of conveying information, which is why the text conveys the information in most cases. Therefore, two reasons not to add alt text are :

1. that this image is decorative¹,
2. this image is already described in text near the non-text content.

¹ : In that's case, the tool should insert <!-- Decorative file --> to indicate that the alt attribute should be left empty (although MediaWiki still needs to improve its handling of empty alt attributes). LD (talk) 09:08, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

this example demonstrates what should be avoided, especially in the context of Cactus: the image is primarily decorative and adds little informational value. It can be described as an eye-candy.

If we want to treat this image as informative, the alt text should clarify its purpose (1, 2). In Cactus' context, alt + description should convey the idea that different cacti exist, which is not clearly the case in the description and alt text, except for those who can already see the image. LD (talk) 09:30, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

Hello @LD,

Thank you for sharing these points. We’ll take this into consideration as the experiment and its results (articles, images, and alt texts written) are evaluated by an accessibility organization. Additionally, we will revisit our onboarding for “Add an image” to ensure there is guidance on not adding purely decorative images. ARamadan-WMF (talk) 16:18, 24 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks @ARamadan-WMF. I hope the accessibility organization will take our specifications into account, as outlined in Help:Images or the fact that Wikipedia is primarily focused on writing articles and delivering text-based information. Wikipedia is about writting articles, text-based informations, ... LD (talk) 17:18, 24 September 2024 (UTC)