Thread: Hackers put flashing images on epilepsy site

Hmmm,
I've see enough films to know what US government agency works out of Virginia

Originally Posted by Ynot

Hmmm,
I've see enough films to know what US government agency works out of Virginia

that would be a lot...

oh, fair enough...

so you're not a CIA agent, then?

damn

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Now I am really skeptical. For that matter, the beginning of a movie on a projector screen is a seizure hazard, and so are strobe lights and police/ambulance/fire truck sirens. There is a limit to how much the world can bend over. I thought they were talking about some special kind of flashing that was specifically aimed at causing seizures.

I don't think my avatar actually flashes any way. It just spins white around and kind of resembles flashing.

I agree that we can only bend over so much..but that was their forum and I'm sure they have rules and what not about the kinds of pictures you can post..so I'm sure you wouldn't see any avatars or pictures like your's on there.

Originally Posted by Dreamworld

Even my school has no proxies my work.. I wonder if a government building would have higher security.

logmein.com

They do.

Originally Posted by Ynot

you would think if you had epilepsy, that you'd have some form of damper on your web viewing - adblock, flashblock, noscript, etc. etc.

it's not like flashing images are uncommon
hell, a lot of the adverts on sites have some form of attention seeking thing going on (flashing colours, fast moving animation)

look at UM's avatar

but anyway...

I tell you Ynot you always seem to hit the nail right on the coffin. I was trying to figure that one out as well. Where the hell are the end-users security precautions?

Originally Posted by Marvo

It's called lulz, laughing at other people's expense.

Oh and, I definitely got some lulz out of this. I guess that's what makes me a /b/tard.

Thats pretty fucking sick. I guess that is what makes you a /b/tard, and what makes that place the bottom of the barrell.

If all the hardcore /b/tards died, I think the world would probably be a better place.

That is sick and twisted.
I personally don't get any laughs out if it but eh that's me.

If somehow the people getting hurt element would be removed from it, that would be funny. i.e. if all the people who suffered seizures thought that was funny (very unlikely) but I agree it's really sick to do something like that.

By the way that blue/green weird post was hilarious for some reason.

And no, UM's avatar is not dangerous in any way, and it's kinda stupid to think so. It's more like hardcore strobe light in dark room thing, with different colors...

Anyone else tense up when they saw that animation, thinking "Okay, this is it, time to find out whether I'm an epileptic"

Originally Posted by still composed

these computers are on lock down..trust me..I've tried porxy a million different ways and it doesn't work..plus they monitor a lot...so i'd rather just wait til I get home..but thanks.

www.identitycondom.com

Believe me, Marvo, if 4ailchan would have been involved in this one, it would have been ruined.

Originally Posted by AspirationRealized

If all the hardcore /b/tards died, I think the world would probably be a better place.

Of all the people in the world most deserving to die, you pick the immature children of the internet?

Glad to see someone's priorities are in order

Originally Posted by Alextanium

Of all the people in the world most deserving to die, you pick the immature children of the internet?

Glad to see someone's priorities are in order

Rolf, you're putting words in my mouth.

Just because killing the immature children of the internet would make the world the better place, doesn't mean there aren't bigger fish to fry. 4chaners are a small sliver of people that would be better off (for the rest of us) dead.

Originally Posted by still composed

I just don't understand how or why people would want to be so mean. I mean...what were they trying to prove or accomplish by this? That they are the world's biggest assholes?

Pure out of ignorance, they are to stupid to realize what they are doing. They think people having a seizure isn't such a big deal, and they are of the opinion that the fun of pulling off a prank like that was more important than the dangers of seizures of epileptics.

But hey, if you're an epileptic, you're bound to stumble upon a flashing image when you are browsing the web. It's not nice what they did, but it's imo nothing but a not so harmless joke.

hmm i would also think you could buy some kind of epileptic monitor which would not put out images like that in a way that causes epileptic attacks, maybe if there isn't one they should make them..

Originally Posted by cuddleyperson

hmm i would also think you could buy some kind of epileptic monitor which would not put out images like that in a way that causes epileptic attacks, maybe if there isn't one they should make them..

some sort of algorithm that analyses the frames in an animation, and maps out a graph of "flashiness" from start to finish, or something

christ,
think of the testing phase
puts a new spin on "fit for purpose"

actually, I think this would work
comparing every frame with it's neighbours

a complete invert of colours would be 100% "flashy"
dropping down for different colour values
black -> white = 100
black -> blue = 70
down to no change between colours at 0%

you'd need the algorithm to be fairly adaptable
with the ability to ignore, say below 10% areas
(large animation, mostly non-changing black with a small highly flashy box in the centre would need to ignore the black areas)

You need some sort of base line
a line, which, if breached is likely to cause epilepsy
say, for example, the line is 70% "flashy"

Once you've got the algorithm, use it to build a graph across the whole sequence of frames

any parts of the image that breach the base line,
manipulate the colours to bring the peak below the base line

Originally Posted by AspirationRealized

Rolf, you're putting words in my mouth.

Just because killing the immature children of the internet would make the world the better place, doesn't mean there aren't bigger fish to fry. 4chaners are a small sliver of people that would be better off (for the rest of us) dead.

You're talking about /b/, as if it hasn't created anything good :/

Originally Posted by Marvo

You're talking about /b/, as if it hasn't created anything good :/

I don't think anyone thinks about /b/ and gets altruistic visions...

Originally Posted by Alextanium

Glad to see someone's priorities are in order

Of all the people who's priorities need to be in order, you pick this guy?

Originally Posted by Grod

Of all the people who's priorities need to be in order, you pick this guy?

QFT

Originally Posted by Alextanium

Must be a slow news day, this happened months ago and they are only just reporting it now.



That's actually a question, not an answer And it's because we're sadists that enjoy a little Schadenfreude every once in a while. All part of being human, good with the bad.

I do however think there is a big difference between a person that laughs at this news story and a person that perpetrated the act. I can laugh heartily at this while simultaneously feeling bad for the people involved, and a certain amount of pity for the person who inflicted it on them. We are complex creatures.