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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
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.
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.
"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.