Please do not use flashing images: they can be dangerous

Question

The UK website Epilepsy Action has a page which warns:

People with photosensitive epilepsy may have seizures triggered by displays that flicker, flash, or blink.

This is particularly the case if the flash has a high intensity and is within certain frequency ranges.

Online, this often relates to the use of animated GIFs and videos.

The page goes on to give guidelines for safe animated content. However, these details are quite technical, and may require expert knowledge to apply. The safest way to avoid harm is not to use animated images at all, whether on profiles, free-space pages, or G2G.

The WikiTree Profile Aesthetics Help page says:

Animations and moving images are discouraged in all contexts. They should be removed upon request.

This is good advice, but could be stronger. It would be valuable if the help page can be updated to give reasons why animations are discouraged, for example by citing the Epilepsy Action page linked above.

See also this earlier G2G question. An answer suggests that there may be a way for the end user to turn off animations, but since that is not available on all browsers (e.g. Safari), it is still safer to avoid flashing images in the first place.

Answer 1

Jim, I have just seen (a) your comment on my profile, (b) your flag on my comment that included a deliberately garish image with red-yellow-blue flashing star border, and (c) this question.  I also received a private message from the leader who hid the comment you had flagged, explaining that she knows my use of the image was well-intentioned, but in view of the potential for damage to people with certain medical conditions, she was going to hide it.

She's absolutely right - my intentions were the best - and so are you for educating me about the hazards of flashing images for some people.

I immediately removed the image from my comments in 2 other places where I had used it, replacing it with the explanation of why I removed it and also provided a link to the image if anyone does want to see it.

I appreciate learning of this, but I really think your response is a little over the top.  If you had just sent me a private message, I would have immediately removed all the instances, not just the one you saw.  I do think that this question is a very good one to post - it lets everyone know about the importance of taking human needs into consideration when using multimedia effects on public web pages.

Comments

Thank you for removing the images, Gaile. I also was sure of your good intentions, as I indicated in the flag.

Normally a comment on a profile is equivalent to a private message, in that both are delivered immediately by email. I avoid PMs where I can for the sake of my own privacy. I'm sorry if you had comment emails turned off. After making the profile comment I waited 15 minutes, then flagged the G2G comment because removal of the image there was urgent. I hope no harm has resulted.

Beyond this incident, I hope the message about the dangers of flashing images generally will be widely read and taken into account.

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I'm happy it was posted in G2G.  I was reminded of the need to think of other potential issues, not that I use too many images, but I won't ever use a flashing one...

Thanks to both of you!

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No problem, Jim - all's well that ends well.  For general information (yours and other members), not everyone has the same communication priorities ...

I do not have any types of WikiTree email turned off, but I have an elaborate filing system for incoming email.  Comments on my profile, private messages, and notifications of G2G posts all go into different folders.  I attach the highest importance to seeing messages coming to specific email accounts  (I monitor about a dozen webmaster@somewhere type accounts, plus 6 of my own accounts, all used for different purposes).  When I am working on my computer, I will see G2G post notices immediately upon receipt and will check private messages during the same work session, but don't attach any urgency to comments on my profile.  I realize that other members, if they prioritize incoming email, will not necessarily have the same priorities as I do.

I share your concern about privacy, but it is not necessary to reveal your email address when sending a private message.  You can change the email address field in the private message so that your email address is not shown to the member receiving the message, which I often do for members I do not know, with a note in the message saying that replies will not come to me, but another private message can be used to reply.  I also sometimes reply to private messages by private message if I do not want my email address to be disclosed to them.  

EDITED TO ADD:
I wish WikiTree would include a radio button for private messages to allow us to select whether or not to disclose our email address to the recipient and then include the "do not reply" statement as part of the official message information when sending it.  I also wish WikiTree would send notice if a member's question, answer, or comment is flagged or hidden - there is no way of knowing this unless you happen to return to your post.

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Thanks Gaile! That's useful information about changing the sender address on private messages.