Thoughts about the use, deployment and narrative possibilties of the <ALT > tag.
Too formal.
What I’ve been thinking about is the space between nefarious corporate activity which aims to deploy AI to learn all it can from people based inputs of the ALT text (thinking here only for images) and the tenderness implied in conversation that can occur if an ALT tag is used with intention. Incorporates care / delicacy / humour / narrative — in short if all ALT tags were written by poets, although I bet I’d be picky about the type of poets***2B, then that might open the possibility for the task surpass the density of description.
This post is in DRAFT format.
My favourite part so far is the ALT attribute text I wrote for Lady Day.
One for My Baby
You’d never know it
But, buddy, I’m kind of a poet
And I’ve got a lot of things to say
And when I am gloomy
You simply gotta listen to me
Until it’s talked away
- What is the ALT tag?
- History
- My early web 1.0 uses and interest in
- The ALT agenda — bots and whatnots
- LEGIT concerns
- ALT nanny or ALT friendly
ONE: Le ALT Tag: Official Wiki: “The alt attribute is the HTML attribute used in HTML and XHTML documents to specify alternative text (alt text) that is to be displayed in place of an element that cannot be rendered.“
That’s the official version. It’s generally referred to as an alt tag, and most folks consider it in the context providing a brief description for images, to convey meaning, for the purposes of those who are using screenreaders to navigate.
TWO: History of the Alt Attribute or Tag
Misuse, abuse, narrative….
THREE: My personal early web (1.0?) uses and interest in the deployment of the alt tag.
At the time (late 1999 and early 2000s1 )
++++++++
Notes:
- Yup I was messing around with netart when I might have been otherwise engaged in making a fortune.
- ***B The version sung by Billie Holiday is my favourite.