Biggles @Biggles@social.cleverlibre.org

If you're like me, then you were really happy to learn about Mastodon's enthusiastic support for image descriptions, and you were really eager to join in.

Then you went to actually write something and realized you have no idea how to present visual information in a way that is helpful/enjoyable to those who are #VisuallyImpaired or #Blind.

I found this guide really informative: https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-write-an-image-description-2f30d3bf5546

Of course, I'd also love to hear any additional tips y'all might have!

#Accessibility

storyteller: OK imagine a dwarf
toxic fan: cool

storyteller: sturdy and made of earth itself
fan: hell yeah this kicks ass

storyteller: dwarves were made by Aulë, the Valar whom they named Mahal, meaning “maker.”
fan: i love this shit

storyteller: but Eru Ilúvatar cast them into slumber for an age, that they should not supplant the Eldar, his chosen firstborn
fan: amazing

storyteller: some of these dwarfs are dark of skin
fan: AAGH THAT IS UNREALISTIC

honestly the reason I am leaving twitter (as it is a process that's my finished yet) isn't that Elon took over, or that it has started openly catering to nazis rather than covering that fact with fig leaves...

it's that finally a critical mass of people with sufficiently diverse backgrounds was moving to a place I like better.

that's it. I haven't enjoyed my time on twitter for years. it has been bad and dangerous for marginalised people this whole time.

it's just that people were there.

@pkedrosky @anildash will be interested to see if that holds.

i tell this story all the time, but i talked to a CIO at one point who said, "i got locked in to Windows, didn't like it, and then it happened again with VMware. that's not happening a third time."

i asked if he was using AWS, he said yes. i asked which services.

"hmm, let me think. DynamoDB, ECS, Kinesis, Redshift, a bunch of other services. why?"

Some notes on the #picotron (WIP fantasy workstation) gfx pipeline. Summary: draw palettes are out, colour tables are in. Also: 64-bit fill patterns.

https://www.lexaloffle.com/dl/docs/picotron_gfx_pipeline.html

Team Fortress 2 update adds VScript and you can now run Linux inside it https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/team-fortress-2-update-adds-vscript-and-you-can-now-run-linux-inside-it/ #Gaming #Valve #TF2

They should give Donald Trump’s tax returns to Justice Alito so everyone will know what’s in them.

Andy Borowitz strikes again!

I developed a tool to show you your twitter friends on #mastodon: https://www.movetodon.org/

👉 All data stays in your browser
👉 No CSV import neccesary
👉 List can be sorted by sign-up date, so that you can find new accounts fast

I do not like that site of birds
I do not like its awful words
I do not like what it became
I do not like its cult of shame
I do not like intrusive ads
I do not like the vapid fads
I do not like the clout it’s given
I do not like its algorithm
But I shall miss that weird bird town
I do not like it burning down

Especially our peeps from Trek Twitter seem to be having trouble finding others from other servers, so how about we make this a #StarTrek roll call post, where everybody reply with a 🖖🏻 or something similar, so others can see and find you. And please make sure to boost the heck out of this.

Dentist: So, do you floss?
Me: Do you use a unique password for every account?

"So how do we build a proton that weighs 938 MeV out of three quarks that weigh a total of 9 MeV and a handful of particles with no mass at all?

The answer is even more complicated than you might imagine."

Highly recommend this very clear and accessible Science Focus article by @AstroKatie

https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/it-may-be-one-of-the-basic-building-blocks-of-all-matter-but-theres-still-a-lot-we-have-to-learn-about-the-proton/

#NuclearPhysics

“Apple and Google need to seriously start exploring booting Twitter off the App Store,” said @esqueer
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/24/twitter-musk-reverses-suspensions/ #tech #technology #twitter #elon #twittermigration #twittermigrate

On this day 154 years ago, Scott Joplin was born. Happy birthday to the King of Ragtime!

Here's a #chiptune rendition of his famous Maple Leaf Rag on the #pico8 fantasy console, with accompanying animation. 🎵

The cart, along with some more info, is on the Lexaloffle BBS: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=50337

BREAKING: Free Software Foundation announces that the GIMP ("GNU Image Manipulation Program") will finally shed its controversial name, becoming LIGMA ("Libre Image and Graphics Manipulation Application") early next year.

It’s good to see engagement and use growing here. It would be healthy to have a social platform free of the billionaire oligopoly and the corporate ad folks, don’t you think?