Two things first: I will try to be short and to the point. This blog is long overdue, and I apologise for that.
Something brought to my attention a while ago was the medical condition known as photosensitive epilepsy. It is categorised by seizures caused by such things as moving patterns and flashing lights. These particular effects can range from minor headaches to blacking out to losing control of body parts. In other words, it is serious. There is also no known cure. Approximately 1 in 4000 persons are believed to have this condition, and it is most common in people ages 7 through 19. While triggers can be as obvious as fast-paced, flashy video games and television scenes (one banned Pokémon episode is a well documented example) to nightclub strobe lights, less known ones include animated billboards and website graphics/designs.
The latter is what I would like to bring to attention. The standard that is deemed acceptable is that an item may flash no more than 3 times in one second. However, this rule is hardly representative of how photosensitive epilepsy can be triggered. High colour contrasts, repeating patterns, animated gif files, alternating colours, circular illusory effects, and even text shadow and bold words. Both alone and in combination, these elements can be potentially dangerous.
Why am I pointing this out? Since heavy customisation was introduced on this website with the style tag a time ago, it has become popular to style profile pages and group pages (blogs less so) with a multitude of codes. I am not requesting that styling be disabled, or for gifs and colours to be removed. I am requesting that this community merely be aware and be ever-considerate toward photosensitive individuals.
By @Limxzero
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