i think this is just another instance of me realising that guilt is a really troublesome emotion, at least for me personally, though i've seen the same sentiment expressed before by like… for lack of better words, tpot-adjacent people. even if the goal is good this means is bad

and it's complicated because i don't think people who try to nudge or push you towards putting alt text on everything necessarily want you to feel guilt about not doing so. (some do, certainly, but not all.) it's just a trap that people like me are too vulnerable to.

oh, right, that's the thing i was remembering: “awayness can't aim”. if you make people feel bad about not putting alt text on stuff, your goal might be to guide them towards putting alt text on stuff, but the same emotions work equally well for just not posting at all instead.

the online information sphere is just too good at making me feel guilty about doing things and trying to avoid them, rather than making me excited about doing better things instead and doing those… it's a pattern. i've gotten better at avoiding it with time, though.

as an aside: gods, i could write a lot of words about how memeplexes that make people feel guilty about engaging with particular kinds of art, or engaging with art in particular ways, are corrosive to the human project… but others can express it better and it doesn't spark joy

(also i'm not excited for the “hikari cancelled arc”)

two replies i got that i want to highlight:

• someone wished social media could crowdsource alt text, and i love this idea. i'd rather have a diverse set of interpretations than make it an all-or-nothing obligation on the original poster
• a tiny summary is better than nothing