/r/TranscribersOfReddit
r/TranscribersOfReddit is a subreddit dedicated to the curation and support of transcribing content posted to Reddit to make it available to all.
Our goal is to make Reddit accessible for everyone whether they are visually impaired, have slow connections or limited data. We have partnered with a growing number of subreddits to provide content for all!
How does it work?
You ‘Claim’ a post by commenting on it
You write the transcription (following our Formatting Rules) in the original post
Post ‘Done’ and u/transcribersofreddit will add a point to your flair
That's it!
Note: When you claim your first post, you will be sent our Code of Conduct, Please read it thoroughly before accepting.
Be nice, don't be rude. If you're ever in doubt, follow the rules of reddiquette.
Our subreddit does not curate or have control over the material being linked to us, and as such Transcribers may encounter NSFW content. We are not responsible for any of the content linked here.
When writing your transcription, follow our formatting rules (See below). We'd like to make our content immediately noticeable by its quality and its format. This means being held to the established standard. Consistency is the name of the game.
If you're a mod interested in working with us, just reach out to us through modmail! Word of warning, though: we can't work with you if you have Saferbot on your mod team, as it pits the openness of volunteer accessibility against contextless bans driven from guilt by association. Sorry, but it's a no go.
Lastly, if you have any questions or suggestions, you've spotted a bug or error, or you're uncertain about anything ask a mod! We live for that stuff.
Our sister sub /r/ToR_Meta, new home of ToR memes, discussion and more!
We have a rolling application for moderators as we continue to grow. Interested? Take a look below!
/r/TranscribersOfReddit
We are heartbroken to announce that Transcribers of Reddit will be closing on June 30, 2023.
Our role in the Reddit community has always been to point out inadequacies in the platform - namely, the lack of accessibility features such as alt text - and provide a temporary, constructive solution while raising awareness of these problems. We believed that Reddit was ultimately interested in addressing these flaws, and our beliefs were reinforced by the positive relationships we have maintained with admins over the past six years. But in light of recent events, we now recognize that Reddit corporate has demonstrated a severe lack of willingness to fix core issues with the platform. It is clear that these problems are coming from the top, and we do not believe they can be fixed. Unfortunately, while this was an extraordinarily difficult decision for us, these circumstances mean that we can no longer operate this project.
The announced changes to the API structure starting July 1st would likely make it more difficult, though not impossible, for Transcribers of Reddit to function. Technical functioning is just one part of running a project of this size and scope; we believe it is only a matter of time until further changes truly make it impossible. In the meantime, our team would be faced with constantly increasing work to keep the project alive until we inevitably have to shut down anyway. In addition, the communities we aim to serve (including /r/Blind) are being driven away from the platform when accessible third-party apps are replaced by the inaccessible official app with only vague promises for future improvement. Add to that a lack of trust in Reddit and severe disappointment in their responses to user protests, it is ultimately not reasonable for our team to take on that workload.
EDIT: I’d like to add a clarification, since some people are reading this as “we could keep going but we are choosing not to” and that is not what we intended to communicate. I (halailah) take responsibility for being unclear, as the last person who edited this announcement before posting it. We do not mean that the API changes are not a problem and we are choosing to close for other reasons, but that the API changes are one element in a list of factors. We are saying that the API changes AND the realistic limits on how much work we can take on AND our lack of trust in Reddit as a platform AND the clear disregard for accessibility from Reddit corporate, all taken together, make our work so complicated and intense that we can no longer manage it. Continuing this project is impossible.
What comes next?
We will be holding a final Clear the Queue event next week to knock out as many transcriptions as possible before June 30. Stay tuned for an announcement with the exact 12-hour window.
Our Discord will remain open as a community space after June 30. /r/DescriptionPlease will remain open and functioning.
Our parent nonprofit, Grafeas Group, does not have plans for a future project after Transcribers of Reddit. While we can't rule anything out for the coming months, we currently believe that it is unlikely, given our resources and the sudden end of this project, that we will be starting a new venture in the future.
Closing
We are incredibly proud of the success of this project - of every post made accessible, of uniting volunteers across 68 countries and every continent, of sharing our lessons and strategies with other groups in pursuit of a more accessible internet, and of creating a community that exemplified the best of what the internet can do.
We deeply appreciate every single person who has contributed to this project over the past six years - volunteers, moderators, the officers and board of our parent nonprofit, our partner subreddits who welcomed us into their communities, people who have donated or bought our merch to keep us running, and everyone who has appreciated, upvoted, and left kind comments on a transcription. We would also like to extend a thanks to the admins who have worked with us over the past six years.
To all of you - thanks for everything. Thank you for bringing your time and your energy. Thank you for being willing to join us in defense of the idea that everyone deserves a voice in the conversation. Thanks for being you.