Twitter Yanks Ads UK Activists Say Could Trigger Seizures 63
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."
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You choose to watch videos on those feeds.
You don't choose which ads are going to inundate your browser.
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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
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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 [vimeo.com]
"Gave Up (for Fixed)" too (Score:2)
WARNING! YOU WATCH THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK: [Flashy music video for a Nine Inch Nails song]
In a similar vein is "Epileptika [zanorg.com]", a fan-made video for the Fixed remix of "Gave Up" [youtube.com] by Nine Inch Nails.
... How can they even watch the internet? (Score:1)
Its full of flashing graphics. I mean just the pages loading in has flashing graphics. Images aren't there... then they are... the page realigns when graphics load in above or below... additional scripts load that change formating.
If I had photo sensitive epilepsy... I'd need a bib just to use the internet... I'd be foaming all over myself.
At a bear minimum, I would think I'd just have adblock enabled when I used the internet... because... photo sensitive epilepsy. I'm pretty sure I'd still need a bib.
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Christ, I didn't think anyone could make Ellen Pao seem pleasant.
That was Ellen, you insensitive clod!
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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.
Re:... How can they even watch the internet? (Score:5, Informative)
"Mongol" or "Mongoloid" used to be the term for someone with Down's Syndrome [independent.co.uk]. 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.
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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
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The strangest case of a trigger I ever heard was the woman who had seizures every time she heard the voice of Mary Hart [nytimes.com] on Entertainment Tonight.
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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 proba
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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?
Re:... How can they even watch the internet? (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Ignorant noise (Score:2)
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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.
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This is yet another example of the post-surfacedwellers internet trying to PC everything. Though, I suppose this instance was a positive one.
Adblock (Score:5, Insightful)
is good for your health.
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Thank God for epileptics (Score:1)
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.
FTFY (Score:1)
Two Words: (Score:1)
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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?
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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.
Flashing animations should be banned anyway... (Score:1)
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.
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why do you think that Fire Police and EMS lights have a very obvious "jitter" to them?
I would be in favor of having the owners of places charged with aggravated assault / attempted homicide since i would also have such factors in published documents that they would have to read before getting a business license.
UK rules (Score:3)
In the UK we have specific rules about this for broadcast TV (from OFCOM document ): http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.... [ofcom.org.uk]
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.
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Active epilepsy is rare, but not as rare as people think: about 1:100 people. Roughly 1:25 people will have more than one seizure in their lifetime.
Photosensitive epilepsy is even more rare: about 1:100 among people with epilepsy. So, this means that a stadium filled with 50,000 people (from a completely unbiased cross-section) would have 5 photosensitive epileptics present. But selection is always at work, and photosensitive epileptics tend to shy away from things that might trigger their condition.
Whi
What's next? (Score:1)
"Warning: This ad may contain peanuts!!!"
Why worry about about epileptic people? (Score:1)
Watch the ad dad, watch the ad! (Score:2)
We want another ride!
I have a non-epilepsy example (Score:2)
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.
Predicted in Max Headroom (Score:2)
Blipverts!