10 ms·

Online altruists making Reddit more accessible

66 points by spost 7y ago

lonelappde 7y ago
Are these captions appreciated? The bland text seems to not be as entertaining/aesthetic as the images, and captioners never "translate" the image into a witty writeup like a good text joke that captures the essence of the visual.
- learnstats2 7y ago
  The purpose of the captions is perhaps more to inform the reader what the context is, so that they can participate - not to provide alternative content which will be out of context.
- DagAgren 7y ago
  Close your eyes. Now listen to a discussion among a bunch of people about an image they are looking at. Would you appreciate being given a description of the image first, or would you rather just hear them talk about something you have not seen?
  - aaron695 7y ago
    This didn't answer the question. For we know it only added your biases. What do actual people this is relevant to say? What do the actual users of this think?
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      Every response adds in the person’s personal biases.
      - aaron695 7y ago
        Yes, but I said 'only' your biases. Top post specifically ask what do the actual people who might want this think. Closing your eyes and pretending you are blind as an answer.... Compared to what does /r/blind think? https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/search?q=TranscribersOfReddit&restrict_sr=1&type=link https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/search?q=TranscribersOfReddit...
- hocuspocus 7y ago
  Most memes are bland and have no intrinsic humorous value. I see memes as a form of absurd and surreal comedy. Literal captioning seems perfectly appropriate to carry the point.
aaron695 7y ago
I thought the earlier post on "Why the Gov.uk Design System team changed the input type for numbers" says a lot in this part- 1. Accessibility 1.a) cannot be dictated or selected when using Dragon Naturally Speaking 1.b) appears as unlabeled in NVDA's element list We need to stop designing around visually impaired people and hold the tools into account. Why us Gov.uk spending 10's of millions on this rather than fixing the tools? This makes no sense "In r/DnDGreentext, one user spends hours transcribing 82,000 characters of text from screenshots of a Dungeons and Dragons roleplay game."
remote_phone 7y ago
What is going to happen when Reddit ipo’s and the employees benefit financially from it, but the moderators who actually make reddit what it is get nothing?
- Deimorz 7y ago
  Nothing will happen, exactly like the last 14 years with the employees being paid salaries while users run the site for free. Why do you think an IPO will be treated differently?
  - notatoad 7y ago
    (deimorz is former Reddit staff and now operates a Reddit competitor)
    - skinnymuch 7y ago
      I don’t know how that makes a difference to his comment. Which is exactly what I was thinking.
      - notatoad 7y ago
        i don't know that it does make a difference to his comment, but on HN it's a standard practice (that i like) to disclose when commenting on your employers and competitors.
        RealityVoid 7y ago
        I understand your feeling, but it's also HN standard practice to assume good faith. I think the first comment is quite short and, while it doesn't bring a lot to the table I think it's a feeling echoed by a many in the current community. (Not necessarily me, but the zeitgeist seems to be there). So, in this light, doing a disclosure on each and every comment is... Unreasonable, especially if it's something you feel deeply about.
aasasd 7y ago
Afaik there are now bots that attempt to transcribe text from images, which is rather apt given the spread of image ‘memes’ and screenshots of text like the greentexts mentioned in the article.
jimhi 7y ago
In 2014, the CEO Yishan Wong and lead investor Sam Altman said they were promising equity to some users of Reddit https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/30/6874353/reddit-50-million-funding-give-users-10-percent-stock-equity https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/30/6874353/reddit-50-million... Any update on this?
- lm28469 7y ago
  > Money can become worthless very quickly. Smart enough to foresee it, not smart enough to avoid it.
DoreenMichele 7y ago
This is cool. I co-own a Google group called Blind Dev Works. I had no idea this existed.

66 points by spost 7y ago

Are these captions appreciated? The bland text seems to not be as entertaining/aesthetic as the images, and captioners never "translate" the image into a witty writeup like a good text joke that captures the essence of the visual.

learnstats2 7y ago
The purpose of the captions is perhaps more to inform the reader what the context is, so that they can participate - not to provide alternative content which will be out of context.
DagAgren 7y ago
Close your eyes. Now listen to a discussion among a bunch of people about an image they are looking at. Would you appreciate being given a description of the image first, or would you rather just hear them talk about something you have not seen?
- aaron695 7y ago
  This didn't answer the question. For we know it only added your biases. What do actual people this is relevant to say? What do the actual users of this think?
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    Every response adds in the person’s personal biases.
    - aaron695 7y ago
      Yes, but I said 'only' your biases. Top post specifically ask what do the actual people who might want this think. Closing your eyes and pretending you are blind as an answer.... Compared to what does /r/blind think? https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/search?q=TranscribersOfReddit&restrict_sr=1&type=link https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/search?q=TranscribersOfReddit...
hocuspocus 7y ago
Most memes are bland and have no intrinsic humorous value. I see memes as a form of absurd and surreal comedy. Literal captioning seems perfectly appropriate to carry the point.

aaron695 7y ago

I thought the earlier post on "Why the Gov.uk Design System team changed the input type for numbers" says a lot in this part- 1. Accessibility 1.a) cannot be dictated or selected when using Dragon Naturally Speaking 1.b) appears as unlabeled in NVDA's element list We need to stop designing around visually impaired people and hold the tools into account. Why us Gov.uk spending 10's of millions on this rather than fixing the tools? This makes no sense "In r/DnDGreentext, one user spends hours transcribing 82,000 characters of text from screenshots of a Dungeons and Dragons roleplay game."

remote_phone 7y ago

What is going to happen when Reddit ipo’s and the employees benefit financially from it, but the moderators who actually make reddit what it is get nothing?

Deimorz 7y ago
Nothing will happen, exactly like the last 14 years with the employees being paid salaries while users run the site for free. Why do you think an IPO will be treated differently?
- notatoad 7y ago
  (deimorz is former Reddit staff and now operates a Reddit competitor)
  - skinnymuch 7y ago
    I don’t know how that makes a difference to his comment. Which is exactly what I was thinking.
    - notatoad 7y ago
      i don't know that it does make a difference to his comment, but on HN it's a standard practice (that i like) to disclose when commenting on your employers and competitors.
      - RealityVoid 7y ago
        I understand your feeling, but it's also HN standard practice to assume good faith. I think the first comment is quite short and, while it doesn't bring a lot to the table I think it's a feeling echoed by a many in the current community. (Not necessarily me, but the zeitgeist seems to be there). So, in this light, doing a disclosure on each and every comment is... Unreasonable, especially if it's something you feel deeply about.

aasasd 7y ago

Afaik there are now bots that attempt to transcribe text from images, which is rather apt given the spread of image ‘memes’ and screenshots of text like the greentexts mentioned in the article.

jimhi 7y ago

In 2014, the CEO Yishan Wong and lead investor Sam Altman said they were promising equity to some users of Reddit https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/30/6874353/reddit-50-million-funding-give-users-10-percent-stock-equity https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/30/6874353/reddit-50-million... Any update on this?

lm28469 7y ago
> Money can become worthless very quickly. Smart enough to foresee it, not smart enough to avoid it.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

This is cool. I co-own a Google group called Blind Dev Works. I had no idea this existed.