please don't blinking hate me!

{text-decoration:blink

}

<span style="text-decoration: blink;">Put the blinking text here</span>

I've had all kinds of trouble with text not blinking in IE though.

I've had all kinds of trouble with text not blinking in IE though.

Browser manufacturers have started to remove this css rule, (it was depreciated anyway) due to the possibility of it causing a reaction in those suffering from epilepsy.

PZ

Blinking Text Demo: (JavaScript, HTML, & CSS examples)

http://alt-web.com/DEMOS/Blinking-Text.html

Nancy O.
Alt-Web Design & Publishing
Web | Graphics | Print | Media  Specialists 
http://alt-web.com/
http://twitter.com/altweb

Browser manufacturers have started to remove this css rule, (it was depreciated anyway) due to the possibility of it causing a reaction in those suffering from epilepsy.

Seriously?

Has anyone actually established a causal link between blinking text on a web page and an epileptic seizure?

Has anyone actually established a causal link between blinking text on a web page and an epileptic seizure?

No urban legend.  Some people with PSE are very sensitive to blinking/flashing text & images.

Nancy O.

Some people with PSE are very sensitive to blinking/flashing text & images.

Understood but the first time I've ever seen it mentioned as being deprecated for this reason is here in this thread today.

If it was a big problem, I would have thought the mainstream media would be all over it.

Would Flash movies not have the same, or worse, effect?

If the target audience includes PSE, all manner of flashing stuff should be avoided.

For some individuals, stripes and wall paper patterns can trigger seizures.

http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/photosensitive-epilepsy

Nancy O.
Alt-Web Design & Publishing
Web | Graphics | Print | Media  Specialists 
http://alt-web.com/
http://twitter.com/altweb

If the target audience includes PSE, all manner of flashing stuff should be avoided.

Since the web is global, every website's audience potentially includes PSE.

How far do you go and where do you stop?

Hi

The thinking is that if the browser sets the blink rate then the manufacturer of the browser could be held responsible. But if the web site owner/developer does this effect via javascript then they are legally responsible should there be an incident.

And, yes there is medical proof of this just as there is now always warnings of flash photography in tv news articles, or similar effects in video games. The legal notices and warnings are not required for such possibilities if there is no proof.

PZ

The thinking is that if the browser sets the blink rate then the manufacturer of the browser could be held responsible. But if the web site owner/developer does this effect via javascript then they are legally responsible should there be an incident.

A court case on this issue would make fascinating reading.

My reading online suggests that screen refresh rates (CRT monitors I assume) are a far bigger issue than the refresh rate of blinking text.

And, yes there is medical proof of this

No doubt you are correct.

However, everything I've seen online is anecdotal.

just as there is now always warnings of flash photography in tv news articles, or similar effects in video games. The legal notices and warnings are not required for such possibilities if there is no proof.

I would expect high profile warnings on every website if PSE and blinking text was a widespread, major issue in the community.

I'm not saying that it's not an issue at all. Just that I've never personally heard, or read, of blinking text triggering epilepsy.

Of course, the easiest way out is to avoid blinking text altogether

Just to be clear, blinking text doesn't cause epilepsy.  I used to work in child epilepsy research.  It's a very complicated disorder, the root causes of which are still not well understood.    That said, blinking / flashing text can trigger seizures in sensitive people.

14 years ago, hundreds of non-epileptic kids were hospitalized after watching a popular animated cartoon on TV. Who knew?

http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/17/video.seizures.update/

Where do you draw the line?  I can't answer that except to say that if you're building a public health agency site, blinking and flashing stuff should be totally avoided.

Nancy O.
Alt-Web Design & Publishing
Web | Graphics | Print | Media  Specialists 
http://alt-web.com/
http://twitter.com/altweb

Just to be clear, blinking text doesn't cause epilepsy.

Yes. Understood. Apologies if the wording of any of these posts made you think otherwise.

Epilepsy is a medical condition. Does blinking text trigger seizures? is the issue here.

That said, blinking / flashing text can trigger seizures in sensitive people.

Understood but, in my limited experience, I've never personally heard or read of it happening.

Where do you draw the line?  I can't answer that except to say that if you're building a public health agency site, blinking and flashing stuff should be totally avoided.

Understood. Same as they should be accessible to the colour blind and enable keyboard only and speech driven browsing.