Flashing/ Rapidly Moving Avatars and Pictures

[moon/Laura]

Hi all. We've long had a thread requesting that people not use avatars that flash or move rapidly in any way, as we have posters that have seizure disorders and are sensitive to those movements.

I would like to request that you extend that to pictures you post as well. Unfortunately there have been some instances of migraines or other problems that have occurred as a result.

Please- be considerate of your fellow posters.


Thank you.

[Jaguar]

This is a good thing.

[whocanibe]

Does that request include the animations I post Moon?
I don't want to be the cause of any discomfort to other posters, so I'll stop posting them just to be sure.

[Deleted]

Think, dancing bananas.

[moon/Laura]

Who, I can't really answer that, as I'm not one that experiences problems. But maybe one who does can say whether the types of stuff you post can cause issues.

[Deleted]

Just a question - how do people that have this issue surf the web at all? Everywhere I go (including this site) have ads with moving graphics...(In fact I have one for a car below where I am typing right now!)

[moon/Laura]

foodiedad, it's not all moving pictures that cause problems. it's usually ones that move rapidly, have a repetitive pattern, or bright flashing strobe-like things..

[thyme4change]

Just a question - how do people that have this issue surf the web at all?

I have several migraines while on this site. I've hidden all the avatars that really bother me, and some of the banner ads bother me, but I refresh and get something else. I haven't had too many problems on the internet in general. The animated emoticons don't bother me, but I do scroll past them pretty quickly. This site is better now that fewer people have scrolling tag lines. For some reason when there were a whole bunch of people that had that scrolling line, my eyes darted around trying to either avoid them or read them, and it would cause me problems.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Since I'm one of the members with a seizure issues, maybe I can give some examples. The animated pics and avatars/emots that are slow-moving are no problem.

It's the flashy/blinking or glittery blinking pics and rows of repetitive bouncing emots that are an issue - not just for me, but for those who suffer migraines/headaches as well:

Here are a couple of examples of threads that are bad for over-doing the flashy/blinky pics & emots, etc:

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fun&action=display&thread=20873&page=18 - almost every page - the bouncing emots/bigg blinky pics

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fun&action=display&thread=23478&page=100 - posts 2974 & 2984 are prime examples - but there are also several other pics on other pages as well.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

No, sroo - the dancing bananas are not a problem - use to your heart's content.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 5, 2012 11:14:02 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

No, sroo - the dancing bananas are not a problem - use to your heart's content.

Unless you're doing pages of them! A while back I started a thread on EE asking for dancing bananas for my DD. It kinda got crazy for a bit and a couple of people wandered in and said it did give them headaches/problems but they couldn't resist coming in to see even the title was something like "please post your dancing banana emoticons..."

[whocanibe]

Sept 5, 2012 11:05:16 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

Since I'm one of the members with a seizure issues, maybe I can give some examples. The animated pics and avatars/emots that are slow-moving are no problem.

It's the flashy/blinking or glittery blinking pics and rows of repetitive bouncing emots that are an issue - not just for me, but for those who suffer migraines/headaches as well:

Here are a couple of examples of threads that are bad for over-doing the flashy/blinky pics & emots, etc:

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fun&action=display&thread=20873&page=18 - almost every page - the bouncing emots/bigg blinky pics

notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fun&action=display&thread=23478&page=100 - posts 2974 & 2984 are prime examples - but there are also several other pics on other pages as well.

Now I understand, so if I post just 'still' pictures, it wouldn't be a problem to people. If I had realised I was causing problems to some posters I wouldn't have posted them, I just didn't give it much thought. I will in future though.

[femmefatale]

Of course they are all my pictures...Imagine that. They're either too big on the God thread, too flashy on the Cabaret thread, and lets not forget the dividers that are never the right size for you either, and or too sparkly. Maybe put that poster on "ignore", or avoid the only 2 threads that I post on.

[mmhmm]

Wow! I'm not physically impacted by the wiggling, jiggling, sparkling, flashing and so forth, but clicking on SL's links certainly opened my eyes! I don't use emoticons or pictures as often as some do, and never use whole lines of them. While they don't bother me physically, they do annoy me because they're distracting. When a page is opened and it's bouncing all over the screen, I find it bothersome. For someone who has seizure issues, or gets headaches, I can see how this would be a really, really big problem. I'm going to be more proactive about it, so if I say something to someone about a picture, or emoticons posted, it's not personal. SL's links just really brought home, for me, the importance of being careful what we post so others don't suffer. That's not too difficult to do; although, people might sometimes forget, or just not think or realize their post might be problematic.

I'm glad this came up. Gives people a chance to understand another's difficulties and try to be helpful.

[NancysSummerSip]

Thanks, Moon. As another poster with a seizure disorder, I know which threads to avoid at this point. Most posters don't do the flashy thing on a frequent basis, or to hurt anyone on purpose. Those of us who have to be cautious about this know which threads/posters to avoid. It's nothing personal; it's just that we can only use so many anti-seizure drugs in a day.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Sept 5, 2012 12:32:55 GMT -5 @femmefatale said:

Of course they are all my pictures...Imagine that. They're either too big on the God thread, too flashy on the Cabaret thread, and lets not forget the dividers that are never the right size for you either, and or too sparkly. Maybe put that poster on "ignore", or avoid the only 2 threads that I post on.

I used those two threads as examples so other people will be aware of what type of pics/emots are causing issues (Not just for me, but for other people), since they are the ones that are the most problematic with the flashy bouncy pics & row upon row of bouncy emots.

I did NOT single out any one person - so don't even go there - it is so other people will know in the future.

And as far as my putting people on Ignore, or avoiding threads .... I'm an Administrator - that's not an option for me.

[femmefatale]

But why go to the threads, if you don't even post with those posters, anyways? The posters who have the seizure issues, never even post on the 2 threads that are being brought to attention. It's not that I am not compassionate for people with seizures, but they can be avoided. That's what I'm trying to say.

[femmefatale]

I did NOT single out any one person - so don't even go there - it is so other people will know in the future.

LOL!! The 2 thread links you posted were mine and Pegs, Lassie! Give me a break. We get it.

[NancysSummerSip]

I think the point SL may be trying to make here is that just by looking at the listing of post topics, there's no way to tell sometimes if there are flashing/moving images on it or not. Even if you do what I often do (hover your mouse over the the post title, just to read the first few lines of the first posting on the thread), you often won't know. I learned the hard way for one poster, whose chronic use of multiple photos, colors and varying fonts meant I could not even get past the thread's first entry. Nothing personal against the poster, but there's no way I can go back there.

I was invited to become a member on another board, but one look at that board for about 10 seconds, and I was out of there. Same problem: too many pulsating colors, repetitive movement of emoticons and flashing photos and typeface.

[mmhmm]

People read all over the boards. Not everyone sticks to certain threads, and there's no way of knowing what's on a thread until you're there, as Nancy said. I, too, have come across boards I just can't take, and I don't have seizure issues and don't get migraines. All the jumping and wiggling is just super distracting and annoying to me. For someone who has seizure issues, once they're on the page the damage may be done. I, personally, don't want to be responsible for something like that just so I can post a pic, or emoticon that draws attention through rapid movement, flashing, sparkling, or whatever. It's not so important to me that someone else has to suffer for it. It's a matter, I think, of realizing what's happening and I don't think a lot of people even thought about the adverse effects of such things. It hasn't been purposeful on anyone's part, those who are negatively impacted by such things aren't just griping for the heck of it, and there's never harm in putting the feelings and needs of others up at the front of the line when considering something that really isn't necessary, as I see it.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Thanks, mmhmm - and Nancy - I know you're also a fellow-sufferer. And it's not a "little thing" for us.

[NancysSummerSip]

Indeed, SL. And as someone on two control meds, I certainly understand.

[mmhmm]

I'm really sorry you guys have to deal with this. I know how difficult it can be. The meds work well, but anything's fallible and they don't always prevent the symptoms from surfacing.

[NancysSummerSip]

True. Strange thing....certain flashing light patterns/color combinations are fine, and others are not. I know which police cars in my county have "acceptable" lights and which ones don't, for example. What's strange about is that they all flash, but the colors are different and the patterns are different.

Needless to say, I try not to get pulled over. And I keep my sunglasses at the ready, if I know I will be stuck looking at flashing lights for awhile, such as when I am stuck in traffic due to a bad accident.

[mmhmm]

I know it's a complex issue, Nancy. I've seen it in hospital. Had one gal go into seizure because of a television commercial. She watched TV at home, apparently, and didn't have problems, but this time ... she had problems. Perhaps, it was because she was ill and her meds weren't enough to control the issue under those circumstances. Don't know what happened, but what I witnessed scared the wiggles out of me. Hers was a nasty seizure.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

That's another trigger, mmhmm. I have to keep the tv remove beside me when it's turned on - so I can switch channels quickly if one of those commercials comes on the screen.

[Jaguar]

Sept 5, 2012 14:24:38 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

That's another trigger, mmhmm. I have to keep the tv remove beside me when it's turned on - so I can switch channels quickly if one of those commercials comes on the screen.

Those commercials done a number on both my DS and me as well. I don't channel hop for that reason.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I just hope it makes more people aware of what to avoid when choosing their pics etc - it will help make things more comfortable for all members if these problems can be avoided with simple courtesty to fellow-posters and their issues.

[Jaguar]

Well it's not like your asking for all bling and movement to cease. Just tone it down a little. A little bling can go a long way.

[Reckless Roselia]

I usually scroll past the bling bling but I know how annoying it can be to many posters. I wish people can be more considerate.