Comment on xkcd #2827: Brassica
yolta@programming.dev 1 year agoRegardless of the other comment, you’re right, the alt text is wrong. Alt text is used by visually impaired users to understand what the image is about and is not the place to put the title of the XKCD.
agnomeunknown@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s not the title, but rather a sort of “bonus joke” that pops up when you hover a cursor over the image (or long press on mobile I think). It’s a staple of xkcd and other webcomics, but I’ll grant that it does present some confusion for those who rely on alt text.
I for one appreciated that being in the post so I didn’t need to click thru for the bonus joke as I usually would. Perhaps it’s just better to call it something other than alt text.
JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Yes, it’s a pretty obvious riff on the main joke, i.e. entertaining the idea that Brassica sequoia is a real thing, based on the fact that brussels sprouts, like cauliflower, collards, kohlrabi, cabbage and others, are all cultivars of B. oleracea.
If you didn’t know that last bit, I can see getting confused about the alt-text.
@yolta@programming.dev @lugal@sopuli.xyz
lugal@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
The point is that it’s not an alt text. Also I was quite tired when writing my first comment
JohnnyEnzyme@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Oh, I see what you mean! So strictly speaking, alt-text should be used for the intended purpose, i.e. in order to help certain users and searches, etc.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I suspect most webcomics makers, and no doubt others, are going to keep using it the way they are. I’m not sure there’s a real issue in this case, but maybe in others…