Subject: Perhaps put it into alt text for the postcards?
Author:
Posted on: 2022-03-27 20:38:24 UTC
That way it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the piece, but if anyone does happen to be using a screen reader or the images aren’t loading there’s at least still a fair chance of them being able to follow what’s happening.
As we all know, there are several publications laying claim to the name "Multiverse Monitor" in the PPC today, but only one brings you the hard-hitting journalism of...
[Checks notes]
... infiltrating the Postal Department and taking photos of everyone's mail.
Postcards from New Caledonia, a very special issue of the REAL Multiverse Monitor
With thanks to Neshomeh, Lily, and my family for their various helps with this really quite bizarre little project.
hS
This is a really nice slice of life in HQ (though some of the handwriting is wonky enough that I'll be holding out for alt text).
I also agree that I want to see what Lux was getting at ...
Minor typo: "you only see that because you haven't seen the crate"
I'd also like to congratulate Postal on their successful unionization, though I suspect Legal had a hand in it.
At least theoretically; I have no way of checking that it's screen-readable. There might be a couple of extra jokes hidden in it (including what's going on with Dafydd's 'stamp').
I did actually write out Lux's full postcard before taking a sharpie to it, and let me tell you, it's [censored] [censored] far too [censored]!
The PPC being what it is, I wouldn't be overly surprised if the Postal Union includes every member of the department, including Otik. Either that, or Starwind misheard, and it's actually the Onion's rules.
(Typo fixed, and thank you!)
hS
I love how many references you've made here, different time periods, different departments/locations, different events—I especially enjoyed seeing the nod to the Pantheon!—and a lot of seldom-seen flashpatches putting in an appearance. The different styles of handwriting really add a lot to the genuine feeling of these postcards!
I feel like I should be clever enough to puzzle out who T and C are . . . but I seem to be not very clever at the moment. : ( I'm going to be thinking about that all day . . .
—doctorlit, about to be honored by going to sort a friend's bookshelf for them
There's something about making actual physical artefacts that feels much cooler. I could basically have done this all digitally, but it wouldn't have felt as good.
I was actually really pleased by how well the writing worked. I was worried it was all going to look like me putting on a font, and granted there's a couple of those, but there are also some which I wrote that don't feel like me at all. (Though they might seem a bit artificial still; the pen doesn't have a chance to flow naturally when you're taking so much care over the letter-forms.)
I can confirm that I know exactly who T & C are, but also that I will be neither confirming nor denying any speculation. :D I think it can be deduced, but I'm the one living in my head, so...!
hS
I see that this is the hard-hitting journalism worthy of being published in the old Multiverse Monitor. Is it not enough to feed a diet of fake news and lies to the reading populace? Must you also invade their privacy in such a manner?
Nita Incog
EIC New Multiverse Monitor
RC 2536
((Incredible!! My one quibble would probably be to provide text transcripts of the postcards, just in case it's hard for people to read the handwriting/the photos don't load/someone is using a screen reader. I love the variety of handwriting and postcards in general! And E/C are obviously not going to give any interviews, but I'm sure that won't stop Estelnar or Starwind from digging through their bins.....
~Lily))
The reason I didn't do it is that the text is often not the point - the postcards are an art project that encompasses the picture, handwriting, and only then the text. In at least one instance, puzzling out the handwriting is part of the experience. How do I transcribe Oleander''s card, for example, in a way that actually conveys the concept? I could do a description, but it would probably double the length of the document, and kind of wreck it for anyone who /can/ see the pictures.
hS
That way it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the piece, but if anyone does happen to be using a screen reader or the images aren’t loading there’s at least still a fair chance of them being able to follow what’s happening.
Found it now; I'll try and work it in over the next couple of days.
hS
All the cards (and the cover) should now have useful alt text. I'm not sure how well it'll screen-read in places, particularly when Lux starts to [censored] her [censored] all over the [censored], but it should be better than [censored] - um, I mean than nothing.
It looks like the mouseover text is just the very plain titles; the full alt text shows up in the source view, but as far as I know there's no browser-innate way to read it other than that. Screen readers are hopefully a different matter, but I'd appreciate if someone could confirm.
hS