Fedi.Tips 🎄

You may occasionally see posts on your timeline containing formatting such as bold, italic, bullet points etc. If you're on Mastodon, you might be wondering how this is possible as Mastodon doesn't include such features?

The reason is that some servers do allow text formatting, usually because the server runs on a customised version of Mastodon or perhaps something totally different.

Lots more info about this including how to join a server that allows formatting:

➡️ fedi.tips/is-mastodon-compatib…

Is Mastodon compatible with rich text formatting such as Markdown? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse

An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse

^fedi.tips

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄

Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

I’ve seen somewhere formatting makes text inaccessible for people who use reading machines - do you know more? #alttext

#alttext

in reply to Christian Schwägerl

Fedi.Tips 🎄

in reply to Christian Schwägerl • 7 months ago • •

@christianschwaegerl

I haven't heard this before, but I am not sure. Maybe @WeirdWriter can help advise if text formatting affects accessibility?

@Robert Kingett @Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Christian Schwägerl

Mark

in reply to Christian Schwägerl • 7 months ago •

Real formatting doesn't, using alternative characters (e.g. script, gothic/fraktur, double struck, enclosed alphanumerics, etc.) as fake "formatting" does

like this

in reply to Mark

Fedi.Tips 🎄

in reply to Mark • 7 months ago • •

@mark @christianschwaegerl

Yeah, that's different, the fake formatting characters are read out by screen readers in a really weird way. Those kinds of characters should be avoided.

@Mark @Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄

Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

@mark Thanks!

@Mark

in reply to Christian Schwägerl

Lydia Trivia

in reply to Christian Schwägerl • 7 months ago • •

@christianschwaegerl I think what they're referring to is the use of special Unicode characters that *look* like formatted letters, rather than formatting applied to regular text. For example, 𝐀 has the character name MATHEMATICAL BOLD CAPITAL A, and many screen readers will read it exactly like that, but if your server allows it you can add bold formatting to the regular LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, and a screen reader should read that just like any other LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A

@Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Lydia Trivia

Fedi.Tips 🎄

in reply to Lydia Trivia • 7 months ago • •

@lydiafacts @christianschwaegerl

Yup, there is an example of this in the attached audio here:

universeodon.com/@FreakyFwoof/…

Andre Louis (@FreakyFwoof@universeodon.com)

Attached: 1 audio This is an utterly ridiculous name for a #ScreenReader user to have to hear. This is someone’s youtube name I came across in the comment section of a video, and I think the best way to show you how annoying it is to listen to, is t…

^{Universeodon Social Media}

@Lydia Trivia @Christian Schwägerl

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄

technicat

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

Some clients (including mine) also will make an attempt to recognize markdown embedded in the HTML returned by the server, like *this*, which is tricky and error-prone and not as good as the server actually processing markdown (offhand I know mitra and gotosocial do), but ever since the first client did that, people expect it to just work and will complain if it doesn't (which is why I have it).

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄

SpaceLifeForm

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

Glitch-soc has posting in HTML, markdown, or just plain text. But you can not select on a per-post basis. You have to change the mode in your settings, which makes it inconvenient.

#UX

#ux

in reply to SpaceLifeForm

Mark

in reply to SpaceLifeForm • 7 months ago •

Meanwhile Friendica has BBCode, because we're old-school like that.

like this

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Chancerubbage

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

I’m am seeing bold headings apparently naming discussion groups or topics? Not sure if that is yet another official structure allowed

in reply to Chancerubbage

Fedi.Tips 🎄

in reply to Chancerubbage • 7 months ago • •

@Chancerubbage

Headings are interpreted by Mastodon's web interface as bold text separate from the main text.

For example PeerTube videos on Mastodon appear with a bold title heading above the video link and preview.

@Chancerubbage

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Chancerubbage

in reply to Fedi.Tips 🎄 • 7 months ago • •

Are headings a ‘local color’ ‘favoring’ some instances and communities use and some do not?

Because I don’t believe it is as searchable via third party client as a hashtag may be.

in reply to Chancerubbage

Fedi.Tips 🎄

in reply to Chancerubbage • 7 months ago • •

@Chancerubbage

If you want your entire posts to be searchable on Mastodon, you have to manually opt into the full text search system (instructions here: fedi.tips/how-do-i-opt-into-or…).

The client shouldn't affect search results as it is getting results from the server's API?

Headings would be searchable if the post is on a Fediverse platform that supports opting into full text search and if the account has opted into it.