any viable solution to epilepsy inducing avatars ?

By the way, there's also a function for those using Opera to stop animated gifs: type ctrl+F12, go in advanced, content, and untick "enable animated pictures"

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I am an epileptic and I have quite a bit of problems with the strobe-like avatars. I have had police lights send me into a seizure.

I’ve seen that happen – especially when they introduced the new “Vector” style lights. A number of officers that had no history of epilepsy began to have problems; up to and including seizures. After it happened to one officer I decided to look into it.

We found out that, basically, anyone can be induced into an epileptic seizure. All it takes is the right frequency of lights, sounds or whatever stimuli. That is, everyone here decrying the complaints of the OP could be made to have the same symptoms if given the right sensory input. Hence, we are all potential epileptics.

Luckily for most of us, the particular ‘trigger’ that will cause an epileptic episode is so rare that we will never experience it. For example, lights that work at 100 Hz will not affect most people but it may induce a sympathetic epileptic. Your particular range might be 1,000 Hz or 1,001 or whatever. But, if exposed to a particular input you will collapse in an epileptic fit. It’s one of the weird things about the human brain.

Apparently, everybody has a secret neurological ‘code’. Unfortunately for epileptics, they just have a code that is too commonly used.


[edit on 25-1-2010 by passenger]

Originally posted by dainoyfb
Hit the escape key and they will stop.

Haha!

I've got a degree in Computer Science and I didn't know this!

Just goes to show, ya never stop learning

I noticed a few animated avatars in the thread so I had to add mine.

I block the worst ones, but I don't think my little "PANIC" will cause anyone to have a fit. I've used it for years with no complaints.


I agree, the ones that flash and blink are a bit too much....

Firefox and Ad Block Plus

No ads and any annoying avatars can be right clicked and blocked.

reply to post by anxietydisorder


I agree, yours is not likely to cause seizure, but it sure is hypnotic.
Once I started watching the way the word "panic" pulses as it enlarges, I couldn't take my eyes away. I just wanted to watch it over and over.

nice job though.

Originally posted by wayno
reply to post by anxietydisorder

 

I agree, yours is not likely to cause seizure, but it sure is hypnotic.

You are feeling sleepy, very sleepy.
As I count back from 10 you will feel more relaxed.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, you're getting tired.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. You are now under my control.

Cluck like a chicken.....

Originally posted by ignorant_ape

example 2
[edit on 25-1-2010 by ignorant_ape]

I am not epileptic or have any seizures but every time I come across this avatar I feel my eyes strained. Nothing against the member, once he responded to my thread and I couldn't even read his post and skipped his post completely. It was very annoying, just few secs looking at it will give any normal person headache.

I agree ATS should moderate against "extreme flashy" avatars.

reply to post by passenger


I have been driving along a tree-lined road when the sun was low behind the trees and had the strobing effect start to bother me. I have to shade my eyes from it. Some stuff on TV bothers me, too. When I say "bothers me", I mean it feels like I'm going to have a seizure. If I get to it soon enough I can prevent it. I think my range might be a lot bigger than non-epileptics.

I right clicked on the offending avatars and selected "adblock image" and that worked nicely.

Originally posted by anxietydisorder
I noticed a few animated avatars in the thread so I had to add mine.

I block the worst ones, but I don't think my little "PANIC" will cause anyone to have a fit. I've used it for years with no complaints.


I agree, the ones that flash and blink are a bit too much....

The avatars that ignorantape referenced in the OP are ridiculously too flashy. Thank goodness for the escape key.

Yours is more tasteful, and while it doesn't bother me, I think it illustrates the problems mods would face if they try to moderate flashy avatars, because there is some flashing in yours. And if the flashing in yours isn't too much, then where do they draw the line? It could become really subjective and hard to administer fairness.

So I guess the best thing to do is use the escape key.

I wonder if the people with flashy avatars realize that some people don't know about the esc key solution, and just skip past their posts without reading them due to the avatar being so annoying, I know I've done this before I learned about the esc key.

What's more unfortunate is that some people with very annoying avatars don't seem to care that they're annoying.

Infraredman's avatar is pretty nice with the blinking eyes on the gray, that's one of the least annoying and shows how a tasteful animated avatar can be done well.

[edit on 26-1-2010 by Arbitrageur]

The "esc" key has been a sanity savor for me... very useful to know about the FireFox function as well.

Sidenote: Thanks BH for the personal insight on certain seizure inducing situations, I would have never considered this as I've never run across it before.