Really IMO the solution for having everyone add #AltText to images is to fix it in the clients and protocol. Make adding alt-text the default, the easy route. Add tools to give an easy starting point for describing images.
#MetaText actually did a really good job with this in a lot of ways, though there's definitely room to improve still.
@Tusky obviously isn't tracking usage, but bsky's architecture allows third parties to actually look for correlations between their design change + increased usage of #AltText.
I guess Mastodon/Eugen got inspired by the work because the upcoming Mastodon version has them natively. I'm now just adding the support for that native function, the HTML differs a bit from my own implementation.
I would like to endorse other minor web apps in the #Fediverse, but most of them are full of UI glitches, are incomplete and downright buggy looking odd things.
From my designer point of view #Mastodon and #Pixelfed are the only effective ones, because they speak to people who are used to proper visual design language (read: Non-nerds, non-engineers, the regular people and design oriented people).
Things like #BookWyrm, #Lemmy, #Friendica and newer niche apps cause reactions like: "What is this?", they look like back end is fine but nobody is in charge of the design and the UI has no direction whatsoever. It's the general culprit in the programming world: A back end developer thinks everything is fine when we add a CSS framework and that's that.
If we just get the UI right everywhere, we get more people to the #Fediverse. I just wish there was more #CSS/design people willing to contribute. #UI#UIDesign
@rolle Unfortunately this is very true. Having tried several, they are not ready for prime time. They are buggy, too loaded up with features that don't all work, and way too busy with things like a riot of color and dancing emojis. When you spend a little time actually trying to use them, you get a real appreciation for the difficulty of clean UI design, and the importance of testing testing testing testing before rolling out capabilities. Mastodon is sort of a bulky dated UI, but it works.
Every little UI decision is critical to a platform's success, and the initial user experience is vital. It could be argued that defaulting to dark mode and 16:9 image clipping is in large part responsible for people bouncing off Mastodon, because it makes the UI look junky. That said, Mastodon works really well, and the more you use it the more you appreciate the functionality decisions.
I've been always attracted to beautiful things. I always list pros and cons in the things I use. I go through dozens of options.
The user interface has HUGE value for me and it can weigh so much it can even top some of the downsides. But even if ALL of the other features are fine and the UI is bad, I have no desire in using the software. It's just the way it is and I'm pretty sure bad UI is a big turn-off for most of the people. Who doesn't love nice looking things?
The simplicity of the #adobexd application appeals to me more than the #figma interface, but that's where the advantages end. No web version and no multiplatformity, no development and uncertain future of the application. And to only selected problems. Although it involves pain and expenses for the same company's product, it's time for a change.
I’m having a lot of fun digging deeper into the old apps for @OldSchoolUI . I totally forgot about the “second screen” craze where you would use the app while watching a show. And it would surface up facts, trivia, tweets, and more. Then those transitioned into streaming apps.
I helped on an iPad app called Showtime Sync. It had some neat technology where it would listen to the show that was playing & navigate to the right spot to participate