Talk:South Bethlehem Downtown Historic District

Image placement

@47thPennVols, I understand the desire to make the article more accessible for those with disabilities, however, my plan with centering the image of the firehouse was that, eventually, I am going to make more sub-sections about the other properties, and that the images would act as a break in the article between them. I can understand that with just the one image it could impair the ability to read the article, however, if I where to make more sub-sections would you support moving the images back to being centered? Scu ba (talk) 04:42, 4 June 2023 (UTC)

I appreciate your willingness to reach out and discuss accessibility and formatting. Without knowing how the article may develop over time, it's difficult for me to predict right now whether or not I might support the centering of images, but Wikipedia's own MOS and MOS/Accessibility Standards urge editors to right-justify images, regardless of the length of the article. There are various reasons for this position (which is also held by many schools, non-profit organizations and corporations); one of the most important is that it's harder for many people with vision problems or learning disabilities to read and comprehend text that is not consistently left aligned. Research has actually shown that readers actually do better, both speed-wise and from a comprehension standpoint, when text is left aligned (even readers who don't have visual or cognitive impairments) because consistent left alignment enables the human eye to more easily find the start of the next line of text as it travels across and down a paragraph (whereas, having one paragraph start with left-aligned text and the second start with an image that forces text to the right of the image, followed by a third paragraph that is aligned left, forces the eye to "hunt" for the start of the next sentence, which can make students with cognitive issues lose their place when trying to read, or worse, completely lose their focus and train of thought). It can also be particularly hard for older readers who use progressive lenses or bifocals to retain their place in an article (particularly when reading an article on a phone, tablet, or computer). This is why it's also generally preferable to "break up" longer chunks of text into article sections that are separated by section headings that are presented as text, rather than as images. The following accessibility guides have some useful tips that might be helpful as you plan your article expansion:

• Design for readability and Use images and media to enhance understanding (Harvard University);
• Why we left align (University of New Brunswick); and
• Layout (scroll down), in Creating a dyslexia friendly workplace (British Dyslexia Association).

Again, I'm so glad that you've reached out. I look forward to staying in touch, and wish you continued success with your research and writing. Kind Regards. - 47thPennVols (talk) 07:03, 4 June 2023 (UTC)