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Twitter Yanks Ads UK Activists Say Could Trigger Seizures
After complaints from UK charity Epilepsy Action, Twitter pulled after less than a day two ads that the group said might cause epileptic seizures. The in-house ads, in the 6-second format of Twitter-owned Vine, consisted of flashing video which the Epilepsy Action said "was dangerous, as it could potentially produce seizures in people who have photo-sensitive epilepsy."
is good for your health.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
It's nice to have a medical reason to have wildly flashing and distracting ads pulled. Beceuase being an obnoxious distraction making it impossible to focus on the content is not enough when money is at stake.
I had occipital lobe epilepsy (i.e. in the visual cortex), and while seizures began with visual hallucinations, I was never susceptible to flashing lights. There was no response to them even on an EEG.
The strangest case of a trigger I ever heard was the woman who had seizures every time she heard the voice of Mary Hart on Entertainment Tonight.
You don't choose to watch a seizure-inducing flashing video unless it's either clearly labeled as such, or you have pyschic powers. Compare: you open your front door and out of nowhere a lion leaps at you. Did you "choose" to be eaten by a lion?
Of course, since the mechanism that generates seizures from flashing content is a pretty simple function of said content's pixel values, such labeling could easily be done automatically. And I'm sure at least Google would be more than happy to let you let them know you wish to not see such videos, or perhaps even offer a "de-seizured" edited version.
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
Are you trying to say mongrel or Mongol. Either way your ignorance is amazing; I don't mean it's a good thing, just that I am amazed someone can be so ignorant.
I believe natural selection is a good thing, but not so much about manual selection. Humans make too many mistakes to be allowed to make those decisions.
It's not just the fast change, it's the repetitive pattern that does it. IIRC, 3Hz and 7Hz are particularly problematic, but other frequencies can be a problem.
So, square turns from red to green, no problem, square flashed between red and green at 3 Hz, problem.
Yes it is horrible if you are afflicted with this sensitivity but I am really wondering why it is ONLY on UK TV that you are warned about an upcoming item with 'flash photography'.
Is this sensitivity outside of the UK so rare as to not be a concern?
Or do the sufferers in other countries just turn away their eyes when they notice the offending picture?
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Consider what other posters have written about the trigger instead of assuming any flashing does it.
The bear minimum might be a bit too much, how about a wolf minimum? Fox minimum? How low could it go? Mouse minimum might be a wee bit too much.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
Well, if they are responsible then they would have a warning like this video does WARNING! YOU WATCH THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK: https://vimeo.com/70257842
...
Images aren't there... then they are... the page realigns when graphics load in above or below... additional scripts load that change formating.
*facepalm* That's not how epilepsy works.
I don't have epilepsy, but still the flashing animations or music videos which alternate black and white screens are very annoying. They should really be banned for good. Whoever creates such videos for consumption of large number of people should consider it 2nd time before posting their video. Same problem is with discos and restaurants that use flickering or blinking lights synced to the music.
First of all, ANY reason to get constantly flashing ads banned from the internet is a GOOD reason.
Secondly, it's just other kinds of offending pictures that other countries' citizens could learn to look away from rather than flying into a rage and trying to have them banned.
Yes, I'm talking about the religious fanatics here. You pick which religion.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
"Mongol" or "Mongoloid" used to be the term for someone with Down's Syndrome. The term was more common a generation ago, and was coined and perpetuated largely in ignorance and racism in the 1860s. Those with Down's Syndrome were simply classified as "idiots", and some European doctor thought they looked like ethnic Mongols. He later discarded those beliefs, but the name stuck. Nowadays you don't hear it too much except in less-than-savory company, like with our AC friend above.
BTW, it's really best to ignore the trolls. I'm sort of breaking my own rule by responding at all, but I thought it was worth knowing where that term comes from.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
I have epilepsy too and seizure triggers are a really complex issue. I've always been able to stare at stroboscopic lights without anything happening (not even after one night's sleep deprivation prior to an EEG to get a seizure recorded). However, I've repeatedly gotten a seizure if I've broken a pencil lead when writing. Not due to the seizure but 10-20 seconds after it happening, I've gotten one. Similarly, I know at least one phrase which gives me that feeling that a seizure is coming (you too are probably familiar with that "advance warning" feeling). Seeing a seizure in some video clip also gives me such a strong "a seizure is coming" feeling that I rather not watch (real seizures, not fake acting bullshit). That said, nowadays my epilepsy is in remission with pills and I can drive a car, sail etc. (and also write with pencils) but thinking about seizures is very unpleasant and one risk that I still don't take is to demonstrate what a real seizure looks like. I was once asked and realized that doing so gives me such a strong advance warning feeling that I'd better not do it.
As a side note, I find it funny that some idiot in this conversation thinks epilepsy has something to do with mental retardation when studies have proven the contrary. Most people with epilepsy have above average IQ. A more accurate conclusion is that our brains are a little bit "overclocked". There's a long list of geniuses throughout history that have had seizures.
In the UK we have specific rules about this for broadcast TV (from OFCOM document ): http://stakeholders.ofcom.org....
A potentially harmful flash occurs when there is a pair of opposing changes in luminance (i.e., an increase in luminance followed by a decrease, or a decrease followed by an increase) of 20 candelas per square metre (cd.m-2) or more (see notes 1 and 2). This applies only when the screen luminance of the darker image is below 160 cd.m-2. Irrespective of luminance, a transition to or from a saturated red is also potentially harmful. 3.1.1. Isolated single, double, or triple flashes are acceptable, but a sequence of flashes is not permitted when both the following occur: i. the combined area of flashes occurring concurrently occupies more than one quarter of the displayed (see note 3) screen area; and ii. there are more than three flashes within any one-second period. For clarification, successive flashes for which the leading edges are separated by 9 frames or more are acceptable, irrespective of their brightness or screen area.
Nanny state or not, it makes no sense to have a set of rules for one screen and not another, within a household.
How about, instead of auto-tagging flashing adverts to allow some people to opt-out of them, people can just not make annoying adverts, much like avoiding the <blink> tag even if it's still supported?
By the way, I've just googled 'blink tag' and the result is quite amusing (if you don't suffer from epilepsy, that is).
Now if only video ads in general caused epileptic seizures, so we could get them banned too.
Sadly, for me, they only trigger an irresistible desire to close that browser tab.
Sure - I understand a website that is providing interesting content for free has to have advertisement to support it - and I am mostly ok with that - I just wish it was static text and pictures, instead of bloody annoyingly intrusive video ads.
Your comment is incredibly ignorant.
Some European doctor? It was Down himself who coined the term Mongoloid Idiot. This is probably as much to be an aide-memoire for diagnostic purposes as for anything else. Down dedicated his life to the improvement of people who were born with mental difficulties and achieved some measure of success in that. He was anti-slavery and did not consider other races inferior.
It is the fact that the term is associated with the abnormality that made it an insult. Use any PC word you like to refer to people with learning difficulties, and it will also end up being used in playground insults, and 20 years later it will be "inappropriate".
Why worry about about epileptic people when you have the chance to annoy millions?
We want another ride!
Christ, I didn't think anyone could make Ellen Pao seem pleasant.
That was Ellen, you insensitive clod!
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
USA Network Online has one extremely loud commercial, for Polar Pops, that can damage your hearing if you are watching with a headset adjusted for the normal volume range of the program. Mr Robot, meet Mr Deaf Viewer.
Blipverts!
"To those who are overly cautious, everything is impossible. "
WARNING! YOU WATCH THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK: [Flashy music video for a Nine Inch Nails song]
In a similar vein is "Epileptika", a fan-made video for the Fixed remix of "Gave Up" by Nine Inch Nails.
I believe it is still supported but it is not (and has never been) an actual standard. There is no authoritative specification for the blink element.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
This. I think things derp slightly differently now (and I noscript/requestpolicy everything) but noughtie's internet was oozing with flashing GIFs and shit. Also SWFs. Shoot the duck and win a ringtone! Catch the balloon and win an ipod! You are the 1,000,000th visitor to the site!
This is yet another example of the post-surfacedwellers internet trying to PC everything. Though, I suppose this instance was a positive one.
Are you sure that breaking the pencil lead is what's precipitating your seizure? My first thought is that breaking the lead is a harbinger of an oncoming seizure.
I realize that this could be dangerous and certainly not pleasant, but have you tried, perhaps under a doctor's supervision, purposely breaking the lead while writing to see if it triggers your seizure?