Reposted by Day Al-Mohamed
I emailed a library asking for a small but annoying favour, and they did me a big favour and it's provided absolutely crucial data for a new project and publication, and slopAI could never and yay for humans, and librarians and archivists in particular.
![Screenshot. Website section headed "Example 7". The example includes a painting [more details in a moment] with the caption "In this painting, the artist Emanuel Leutze used light, color, form, perspective, proportion, and motion to create the composition.
The image and caption are followed by a subsection with the question "What alt text would you choose for the image in Example 7?" Five options follow:
- "George Washington"
- "Painting of George Washington"
- "Painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River"
- "A classic painting demonstrating the use of light and color to create composition."
- "Painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River. Swirling waves surround the boat where the majestic George Washington looks forward out of the storm and into the rays of light across the river as he leads his wary troops to battle."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ujutgvmcjrwh2tmgp44g5blb/bafkreibpc52ynnnj7hxh6pczsjguxkff7mc6xeiiigmqwoil4sc3ppk5z4)
![The image is not linked, so there is no function. We should then determine if the content of the image is presented in the surrounding text. In this case, it is not (at least not entirely). But this image is more challenging.
"George Washington" is probably inadequate.
"Painting of George Washington" is better, but in this case, it is appropriate to describe the image as a painting, as opposed to a photograph or other image type, but it does not provide enough content to be considered equivalent.
"Painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River" provides more information that may help the user identify the content itself. Remember that alternative text is not just for users who are blind. Many sighted users would be able to identify the specific painting in question given this description, whereas "George Washington" alone would not be descriptive enough.
The final (verbose) option might be appropriate if the art technique is more important than the subject. It may also be appropriate if a detailed examination of the painting is in order, but this level of detail would probably be better within the body text.
There is no [begin strong text] one [end strong text] right answer here. The best alternative text will depend on the context and intended content of the image.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ujutgvmcjrwh2tmgp44g5blb/bafkreig2fuszu2jhywp2qxwvw6geqe7iyacldblf3utwij3fo5pct5t5f4)
