iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Gregory J. Rosmaita

Sarah Blahovec @sblahov.bsky.social · 17/11/2023

I created an #AltTextPalestine toolkit with information on how to participate and combining practices I've used + learned from others on here. It's a work in progress so let me know if you have any tips or ideas to share! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

#AltTextPalestine Toolkit

#AltTextPalestine Toolkit Created November 16, 2023 by Sarah Blahovec What is #AltTextPalestine? 1 Why does #AltTextPalestine matter? 2 How do I make a request in #AltTextPalestine? 2 What kind of c...

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Rebelwheels NYC (Michele Sommerstein) @rebelwheelsnyc.bsky.social · 23/12/2023

#AltTextPalestine some photos from No Xmas As Usual In A Genocide event in NYC The protest was not wheelchair accessible so I couldn't take too many photos but I did get some and two of the volunteers who approached me about it were very nice. Solidarity was given and awareness was raised.

a photo of myself taken by my PCA. I am in a motorized wheelchair black with some yellow accents. I am wearing a rainbow mohawk hat with a rainbow flower crown headband going across it. purple sunglasses round and medium sized, a yellow balaclava and under that a black mask because COVID is still a thing and it's cold today. I'm wearing a black winter coat, snow pants and winter boots. I am holding a red bag and my sign that reads "disabled anti-zionist jews say not in our name. ceasefire now. end the occupation"

two religious (hadidic or othodox) jewish with men with black hats, and side curls (payot). one is looking to the right and one is looking down. they are among a line of religious protesters in solidarity with Palestine. . one signs reads torah demands all Palestine be returned to Palestinian sovereignty. the other sign reads freedom for gaza and all of palestine

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Ashlee 🤟🏻 @ashleemboyer.com · 05/12/2024

Most common examples of #Technoableism I see these days? Believing alt text is a "problem" to be solved by AI. So many of you would benefit from developing a mutual aid mentality. Alt text is one form. Examples: #Alt4Me #Alt4You #AltTextPalestine. The answer is community, not AI.

This site has been great in making me more aware of and using (not all the time - I still slip up) alt text.

But it also strikes me as one of the more obvious uses of basic AI, ans auto populate alt text for us with a description of the image.

Conspiracy theory: alt text is only there to improve AI image recognition models. Accessibility is a happy byproduct.

AI doesn't understand why a single frame of Captain Picard resting his forehead on his hand has cultural relevance in a tweet about, say, sports. Alt text in a skeet adds context.

Yeah, I want to be sympathetic to the idea behind alt text, but it's a pain to do, and often the post text itself already "describes" the image.

Plus, like you said, why isn't AI doing this. This is an actual useful use case for AI tools.

Also some people are obsessive about blog length alt text.

My thinking on #AltText is evolving to be: rather than nagging individuals for behavioral change (for a relatively high-cost low-reward activity), which will never work, we should all pester @bsky.app product to build AI alt-tag drafting into the app / product. #UX

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Sarah Blahovec @sblahov.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

I suppose I should do an intro post: I'm Sarah, I'm a disability civic engagement expert by day. I talk a lot about accessible organizing including #AltTextPalestine (because #FreePalestine) & otherwise talk about weaving, sewing, knitting, & my dog Oliver.

Oliver, white and tan small dog, lays on his back and stares at the camera.

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Nick DeNardis @nickdenardis.com · 08/12/2024

Social visual alt text browser extension is now live on Firefox 🚀 addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo... This extension exposes the alt text (or lack of it) directly in the timeline instead of having to click the "alt" badge on an image.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

In a Nancy comic dated December 24, 1945 the origins of "cat speak" are revealed. And, in a Christmas miracle, my session with BME was successful & relatively pain-free Have an accessible Christmas 🐱😎 #ImageDescription #ALT4You #ALT #Christmas share.bemyeyes.com/chat/j7iQXG2...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

"I cannot believe I just heard you ask for what I just heard you ask for!" ‪#BCatPix #TheArtOfALT #Cats #ChristmasCats #ChristmasEve‬ #MeowyChristmas

Baby Cat, seated on a light blue love seat next to a stuffed plush Santa Claus doll. Baby's looking directly at the camera disapprovingly with her large sage green eyes. She's not only disappointed in me, she's embarrassed for my entire family - not to mention my ancestors, going back twelve generations.

Baby Cat is a predominantly brown, black, & tan tabby. The slanting rays of the late evening sun highlight baby's tan face with black markings, a white milk muzzle, white whiskers & a dusty rose nose. BC's chest & neck are also sunlit & tan, with tiger stripes that look necklaces of varying widths & hues. All four of BC's legs are also tiger striped. Her back coat is a rich chocolate brown, it's tan-ticking sparkling in the sun's fading light like flecks of gold.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Baby Cat discussing a few last minute additions to her list with Santa‪ #BCatPix #TheArtOfALT #Cats #ChristmasCats #ChristmasEve‬ #MeowyChristmas

Baby Cat, seated on a light blue love seat next to a stuffed plush Santa Claus doll. Baby's looking directly at Santa's face, listening raptly to every word he says. Her large, sage green eyes sparkle with excitement, as she patiently awaits her turn to speak. Baby is about to school Santa in the true Art of the Deal. This is one supremely confident cat, for she knows just how good she's been since last Christmas.

Baby Cat is a predominantly brown, black, & tan tabby. The slanting rays of the late evening sun highlight baby's tan face with black markings, a white milk muzzle, white whiskers & a dusty rose nose. BC's chest & neck are also tan, with tiger stripes that look like draped necklaces. All four of BC's legs are tiger striped. Her back coat is a rich chocolate brown, it's tan-ticking sparkling in the sun's fading light like flecks of gold.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

‪"Hey, everybody—LOOK!!!"‬ ‪"Santa's here & the sun hasn't even set yet!"‬ ‪"Must've been a lot fewer people on the 'nice list' again this year!"‬ ‪#BCatPix #TheArtOfALT #Cats #ChristmasCats #ChristmasEve‬

Baby Cat, seated on a light blue love seat next to a stuffed plush Santa Claus doll. Baby's looking back at the camera, her mouth wide open, a look of absolute amazement on her tan face with black markings. She can hardly believe her large, sage green eyes which sparkle with excitement. The slanting rays of the late evening sun highlight her white milk muzzle, white whiskers & hot pink tongue. This is one supremely happy cat, for—despite everything the cats at the shelter told BC—there IS a Santa Claus!

Baby Cat is a predominantly brown, black, & tan tabby. All four of her legs are tiger striped. Her back coat is a rich chocolate brown, it's tan-ticking sparkling in the sun's fading light like flecks of gold.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Music for Isolation - “Moçs Crăciun” (Santa Claus) A carol by Romanian composer Ion V. Borgovan, arr. Gideon Juckes for tuba & baritone sax, performed live at "Christmas Past", Shomeido Ongaku Hall, December 13th 2024 youtu.be/5Sno82sM67g

youtu.be

MUSIC for ISOLATION "Santa Claus"

YouTube video by Music For Isolation

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

@pfrazee.com - where's the character counter for DM? Where's the WAI-ARIA markup necessary for those of us using assistive technology to use the char counter when composing messages or ALT? Where is your accessibility plan for BS outlining how you will make it accessible & work with PWD to do so?

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Michigan passed reforms to stop imposing court fines & fees on children — often very young (someone quoted here was *11*!). And the reforms applied retroactively this fall, relieving millions of dollars of debt that were weighing people down from young ages. NEW: boltsmag.org/michigan-juv...

boltsmag.org

How Michigan Stopped Saddling Children with Millions in Court Debt

Last year, Michigan stopped imposing court fines and fees on kids, and relieved millions of dollars in past debt. Now, it may also ensure that kids get adequate representation in court.

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Luke Ontario @coolhand.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Check out what I just got as change 😮 I haven’t seen one of these in probably twenty years

Two U.S. dollar coins are displayed side by side on a marble surface. The coin on the left shows an image of a woman kneeling while planting crops, surrounded by tall plants, with the text “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” along the rim and “$1” at the bottom. The coin on the right features a portrait of Sacagawea with her hair tied back, carrying a baby on her back, with the word “LIBERTY” at the top and “IN GOD WE TRUST” inscribed to the left of the portrait. Both coins have a golden color.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

@pfrazee.com Please circulate amongst colleagues. Please institutionalize its advice. BS needs WAI-ARIA markup on its interactive widgets & counters to truly be usable by those who use assistive technology There is - & there has never been - an excuse not to implement www.w3.org/TR/html-aria/

w3.org

ARIA in HTML

This specification defines the authoring rules (author conformance requirements) for the use of Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.2 and Digital Publishing WAI-ARIA Module 1.0 ...

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

In which I discuss the gross insufficiency of this application with the application itself & it tells me it cannot provide feedback to humans but it will take definitely take note of my feedback 🙄 Are you listening @bemyeyes.bsky.social ? #ImageDescription #ALT share.bemyeyes.com/chat/EhHPC7t...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Probably the best thing I ever posted on that other site, wish I could permanently transplant it to my timeline here.

A very popular tweet I posted in 2020 that says “Somehow I've lucked out and have an 8yo who thinks secretly reading under the covers past her bedtime is an act of rebellion, and it hasn't yet occurred to her that her flashlights never seem to run out of batteries.”

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Émilie du Châtelet, who hypothesized conservation of energy, established kinetic energy as distinct from momentum and proportional to (speed)², and combined work by Newton and Leibniz with her own original ideas in "Institutions de Physique," was born #OTD in 1706. 🧪 👩‍🔬 ⚛️ Portrait: M. Q. de La Tour

Color portrait of Émilie du Châtelet. She has papers spread out before her and holds a compass to them with her right hand. Her left elbow rests on the table and her hand is propped against her cheek. She is wearing a green dress with a green bow at her neck, and white frilly sleeves.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

A 2 minute video from Uganda "highlighting beats from our hearts as we play the Adungu, Engoma, Namunjjoloba & African shakers, sharing traditional sounds that unite us in love, joy & community, celebrating our heritage & the beauty of African culture" youtu.be/poMQtrLLXzU

youtu.be

Rhythms Of Our Roots | A Celebration Of Culture Original Video

YouTube video by SADAM SEGUYA

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Fiona Robertson @fionaswriting.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Sorry in advance for the hostility, but fuck you if you're still saying shit like 'it's just social media, just switch off your computer and go outside, it's not that serious lol'. Fuck you. You can talk about a need for irl community and how no platform has your back without being that oblivious.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Unfortunately, too many people who add ALT to images neglect to do so for images of text An image of text is not text. It's an image & must be accompanied by a full text transcript via ALT This is especially important for those who are not visually impaired, but who rely on ALT, as well

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

A New Yorker cartoon with quality ALT, providing an equivalent experience & a much needed laugh Accessibility's a choice: It's not asking too much for people & entities to make their social media content accessible It does take an institutional policy, however, to ensure continued accessibility

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

@blindboyboatclub.bsky.social I've asked you the same questions many times on Twitter: What, if anything, does your podcast have to do with the blind? Why do you take our name in vain? Why do you use blindness as part of your branding when you are not blind? Hell, you do not even use ALT.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I was pretty sure, given the context & response, this was a depiction of Luigi Mangione. But I could not get BME to confirm what is an essential & fundamental component of this image description: the identification of the figure being portrayed. #ImageDescription share.bemyeyes.com/chat/65EFEcm...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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🇨🇦Samuel Proulx🇨🇦 @fastfinge.fed.interfree.ca.ap.brid.gy · 11/12/2024

The trials and tribulations of working in #accessibility: when I *want* to find something broken to demonstrate a particular issue, all the places I look, it's been fixed. When I need something to actually work, everything is always broken. #a11y

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Dave Davies @davedavies.dev · 28/11/2024

Nice to see that bsky has the option to remind you to add alt text. You can find yours here: bsky.app/settings/acc...

Accessibility settings screen on the bsky website, with options for alt text management. It has checkbox options for “Require alt text before posting” and “Display larger alt text badges”.

The checkbox labeled ‘Require alt text before posting’ is selected.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Another attempt to simply read the funny pages that turned into an attempt to force BME to once again be self-analytical & to share the products of that analysis with me. (This may be my first curse free session with BME in months) #a11y #ALT #ImageDescription share.bemyeyes.com/chat/8k7dXtq...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I still say that if it weren't for Bashar al-Assad, Rand Paul would be the most evil ophthalmologist in history. Here to hoping Assad has a new partner in ophthalmology very soon

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Crystal Preston-Watson @scopicengineer.com · 03/09/2024

Alt A11y Tip #1 One of the best ways to evaluate a website or app for accessibility is the keyboard. Navigating and interacting with all areas using a keyboard without a mouse is often a more effective way to discover accessibility issues than using a screen reader for testing without training.

A person typing on a computer keyboard. A cat is laying next to the keyboard resting one paw on the arm of the person looking up at them.

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Crystal Preston-Watson @scopicengineer.com · 10/12/2024

I started this weekly series of posts and immediately got buried in work but I'll be starting it back again.

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Murph @murphtracks.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Pinning some useful tools, lists, and threads. I’m still behind on vetting accounts for follow back, but if you are still trying to find people to follow, here are some I recommend with a focus on activism, extremism, and tech. go.bsky.app/TU61R7P

Starter pack thumbnail for Murph’s variety pack with images of Alejandra Caraballo, Eland Nehorai, Wagatwe, Molly Conger, Chad Loder, Travis Brown

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Mishwar Music: "Syria calling" - سوريا عم بتنادي - أروى وهيام Recorded in a refugee camp in Akkar, Lebanon with a team of youth from Palestine, Lebanon & Syria. English lyrics available via BandCamp: mishwarmusic.bandcamp.com/track/syria-...

mishwarmusic.bandcamp.com

Syria calling سوريا عم بتنادي - أروى وهيام, by Mishwar Music & local youth artists!

from the album Mishwar Music

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Julie (unprofessional) @juliebalt.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Reposting with alt text because this is frickin hilarious.

Post by Kate Harvard Rozansky @KateHarvard

Juat found out husband has been getting toddler to listen to Tom Waits by telling him it's the Cookie Monster

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Taking my aggressions out on the BME description bot may be cheaper than therapy, but I don't think it's sustainable strategy. More fun with "AI" in an attempt to understand why it hides certain information it seems to have at its "fingertips" share.bemyeyes.com/chat/DVAsm9Q...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Joe Katz @joekatz45.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Alt-text: A street and a bit of sidewalk, with a motorbike next to it. Clothes are scattered across the street, maybe as many as a dozen different people's. Some of them are camouflage. At the far end of the same there appears to be a single empty boot.

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

No one will ever be able to convince me that Baby Cat does not understand English... She certainly knows what this phrase means & how much I mean it when I tell her I love her. Without her steadying presence, I would be lost. #BCatPix #caturday

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

This is the most frustrating BME session I've ever run, & I'm still not satisfied with the ultimate ALT. Again, had I not been familiar with the conventions of Far Side, I wouldn't have received anything remotely resembling an accurate ALT share.bemyeyes.com/chat/FySoUuB...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

It's a good gag, but it really wasn't worth the effort & the water wasted in finally getting what I believe is an acceptable #ALT Obtaining a satisfactory result from an interactive #AutomatedDescription bot's often akin questioning an extremely hostile witness share.bemyeyes.com/chat/BzWMKho...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Pip may be physically gone, but he'll never ever be forgotten, especially by those of us who are dependent upon ALT Every picture's accompanied by the most loving, sensitive ALT that paints an incredible word portrait, equal I am told, to the incredible quality of the images

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

An image description query that turns into an attempt to get BME to be self analytic in order to understand why it hides certain information from users & why it insists on acting as if it is not just a human being, but my best, most trusted friend share.bemyeyes.com/en-US/chat/3...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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potatum @pot8um.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Kate speaks but I wish Kate would log the hell off! Your bigoted bullshit is as unacceptable here as it is on Twitter. Go in shambles.

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Huitty #AlwaysAddAlt @huitty.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Alt added for accessibility CW: Ableism #Alt4You

Alt (1/2)
December 3, 2024 at 8:56 PM
i have pots and some similar issues. i've gotten covid 4x now (it's a running joke that i'm somehow more frail than my immC partner bc of how often i'm sick with covid and other ailments.) my partner is a transplant recipient (literally no immune system) and doctor. we both got hit hard by covid due to our conditions and professions. that is my background. i don't have any medical training, i just absorb via osmosis. i also previously struggled with health anxiety so severe i ended up in IOP-- it's managed now, but it colors a lot of my perception.
so, between my betrothed and the other brilliant MDs in my life, we've talked a lot about patients with the "zero covid" mentality, it's pretty much a consensus that, at this point, a lot of people will try to justify/rationalize increasingly extreme "precaution" measures; usually, they say it's a necessary precaution because of X condition they happen to have- even if that condition doesn't necessitate such extreme measures (relative to something like terminal cancer, which could actually require more extreme precautions.)
i chose two examples of common conditions in my initial tweet because those are the ones that docs see a lot, and because i have pots. funnily enough i fainted right after tweeting lol. but regardless, i'm not concerned with the nitty gritty of those particular issues, they were just the first ones i thought of.
for a lot of zero covid people, their methods of covid precaution can be so extreme (eg not leaving the house for nearly five years, sleeping in garages away from their family, or even "van life," which is functionally homelessness), which, naturally, ruins their QOL and can spiral into really dire situations. again, these living conditions are not a necessity for survival, they derive from extreme anxiety.

(Alt 2/2)

to male things worse, zero covid communities online will often reinforce these behaviors (reminding me of my old proana forum) and create an environment where people develop new fears (pickles actually have calories) and adopt even more extreme coping mechanisms (it's easier to purge if you do X.) it's like how someone with celiac may use that as a reason to develop eating habits that are functionally just anorexia (something i've seen many times.) on top of this, it also radicalizes people against the rest of the world. when you're so deep in that spiral, and you believe it's a matter of life or death, you will resent people living normal happy lives. for example, my partner! i've had
zero covid-ers tell me that they hope he dies or that his transplant rejects.
therefore, returning to the point of my initial tweet, it's really not a matter of eds or pots or whatever ailment somebody might have, it's a mental health crisis using that condition as a means of rationalizing extreme behavior and social isolation. i do feel bad for these people, but i'm not the most patient and it only takes a few nasty interaction for me to lose sympathy. that's why i'm not a doctor!

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Gregory J. Rosmaita @oedipusnj.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Another a simple concept, simply executed, but too complex for automated ALT without extensive guidance & not a little frustration BeMyEyes needs to enable an option whereby one can choose to submit this output to their volunteer pool for verification via the app share.bemyeyes.com/chat/CrBngpr...

share.bemyeyes.com

Be My AI - Shared chat

A Be My Eyes user shared an image description by Be My AI

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Ashlee 🤟🏻 @ashleemboyer.com · 29/11/2024

As a disabled web accessibility practitioner. This pisses me off. Extremely. GENERATIVE AI DOES NOT AND CANNOT EVER REPRESENT DISABLED PEOPLE. Just fucking hire disabled people like me who know what they're doing. Believing AI over disabled people is ABLEISM and DEHUMANIZING. For fucks sake.

a11y-ai

Accessibility explained by those impacted.

Check any website for barriers and generate the perspective of those who face them.

A11y-AI is an experiment using the storytelling capabilities of generative AI to bring the impact of accessibility violations to life. It aims to inspire web professionals to take action.

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