projectblacklight
Feature: Add a character countdown and warning to the alt text field
Problem being solved
As currently implemented, widgets with the alt text field do not give any indication of a recommended character limit. Accessibility guidelines tend to recommend 100-150 characters.
Possible design approach
Show a character countdown in or below the alt text field, and then show a warning beyond the 150 character count: "Alt text should not exceed 150 characters.”
I am worried about this being instituted when we have other accessibility needs that IMHO are more important. The Stanford Office of Digital Accessibility has stated at times that 150-250 characters is best. In actual practice working with exhibit creators to craft alt text for 160+ exhibits over the past few months, we have found that there are plenty of use cases where we run over 250 a bit -- and the alt text would be totally insufficient without going a bit over. When there is a verbatim transcript required for text on an image, we do require that exhibit creators create an additional exhibit page (or pages) as appendices that contain those transcripts. So to be clear -- there is a line of excess for alt text that is definitely not acceptable. All this said, can we consider this a bit more/have more discussion? Thank you so much!
@caaster Of course. Thank you for adding context! This enhancement is leftover from the "Spotlight Alt Text Proposal" document - Fall 2024. At the time, it was requested by multiple institutions including Stanford. I think it is OK to amend or continue to deprioritize it.