[Trigger Warning: Ableism]

mswyrr:

mindovermatterzine:

alisonofagun:

goldenheartedrose:

darrylayo:

The thing that really sucks about when epileptic Tumblr users complain about GIFS is that for many of us, Gifs are what Tumblr is FOR. I have many times followed accounts just because they are Gif-based. That’s what I like and what I seek out.

I know it doesn’t seem it, but I DO empathize with people who suffer from disabilities. But it is the height of arrogance to enter a space like Tumblr, which has multiple uses for multiple people and claim discrimination when some people use one of the system’s basic functions. It is the height of arrogance to claim that people are being oppressive because their blogs contain painful material. You DO have some control over your life! The argument that “it shouldn’t be disabled people’s responsibility” is irresponsible and hostile to reality. Of COURSE it is your responsibility to protect yourself.

I’m not epileptic, but I have high anxiety. I used to be unable to get through a movie—any movie—without coming near the verge of a panic attack. Not only action movies, but even slow-paced romantic dramas. But I am an adult and not a selfish brat, so I took responsibility for my limitations and I never once blamed anybody else when I clearly chose to watch a movie in the first place.

You have two choices here: One, you can take the steps to disable GIFs. Two, you can cease using Tumblr. Animated images are a large part of this website’s interests, perhaps you would be happier looking at Twitter which is all-text.

Either way, buck up, bucky.

I don’t think it’s that difficult to tag a post with “epilepsy warning” or “seizure warning” if there’s a flashing gif.  I think it’s ridiculous to ignore the needs of people who follow you.  I didn’t realize that gifs were harmful until someone pointed it out to me, and now I do tag everything that flashes with the aforementioned tags.  To me, it’s two seconds to type out a tag to a post.

Hey, OP. Folks with epilepsy/folks who are otherwise sensitive to flashing gifs do take steps to protect themselves; those steps happen to require (extremely) minimal effort (more like mindfulness, really) on the part of everyone else for it to work. You have to tag #epilepsy warning or #seizure warning. That’s it. They do the rest. 

Accessibility is not an indulgence. 

Stop acting like a baby whose toy is being taken away. Nobody is trying to confiscate your gifs. All that’s being asked of you is a little consideration for folks with disabilities, and you know what? It says a lot about you that you resent them for it.

Yes to all of the commentary: just tag your shit and leave it at that. It’s a case of basic consideration for the health of others and takes about 0.5 of a second. 

I’ll link again to my trigger warning post here. OP: y’all can read this or not, I just really hope, in the kindest way, that you reconsider your position on this kind of thing. 

patrick-jane mentioned a while back that my use of the “epilepsy warning” tag was confusing and I’ve been putting off posting about why I use it. But then today, from several people I follow, I came across gif sets that were flashing really, really fast (one about anime, I think, and one about True Blood? I couldn’t look at them for more than a second or two) and they started triggering a migraine for me (not as hazardous to health as a seizure, but painful nonetheless) so I thought I’d post this here as a sort of awareness raising thing.

Reblogging this for new followers to have a look at.

Notes

  1. smdy reblogged this from mindovermatterzine
  2. trenzalo-re reblogged this from mindovermatterzine and added:
    The thing is, people who may not be aware, or those bloggers who don’t particularly care to tag get attacked by people...
  3. lazyarn reblogged this from mindovermatterzine
  4. thoughtsofasun-drenchedelsewhere reblogged this from always-tete
  5. autiecommie reblogged this from sherlocksflataffect and added:
    Also, bonus privileged fuckery points for “suffer from disabilities” on OP’s part. Why don’t you eat a grilled dick with...
  6. sherlocksflataffect reblogged this from goldenheartedrose and added:
    Dear OP: You are an overprivileged sack of shit. Go fuck yourself with a sideways diamond encrusted pineapple. Then...
  7. themostfeminist reblogged this from greenchestnuts
  8. xelishiken reblogged this from transboybearcub
  9. transboybearcub reblogged this from goldenheartedrose
  10. ceeainthereforthat reblogged this from mindovermatterzine and added:
    I need to do better on tagging stuff I put animated GIFs in. Thanks for the reminder.
  11. wide-worlds-joy reblogged this from thatfeministdyke and added:
    I honestly had been wondering about those, and wondering if the people who put up those flashy gifs knew what they were...
  12. socialjusticemagicalgirl reblogged this from thatfeministdyke
  13. thatfeministdyke reblogged this from mindovermatterzine
  14. myasphyxiatedmind reblogged this from mindovermatterzine
  15. charcoalcloud reblogged this from mindovermatterzine and added:
    Hadn’t occurred...worth knowing about. Tagging rapid/flashing GIFs
  16. mindovermatterzine reblogged this from mswyrr and added:
    Reblogging this for new followers to have a look at.
  17. spacew0man reblogged this from always-tete
  18. always-tete reblogged this from mswyrr
  19. hegge reblogged this from ladyfaeboleyn
  20. mswyrr reblogged this from verylisa and added:
    and/or aren’t very sedate. I.e....post that seems pretty static
  21. ladyfaeboleyn reblogged this from mswyrr and added:
    OK, I don’t post GIFs myself, because I don’t have any, but if I reblog anything with flashing GIFs, I will remember...
  22. verylisa reblogged this from mswyrr and added:
    Would some kind person help me out by pointing me to a discussion of when to use the ‘epilepsy warning’ tag? I tried...
  23. greenchestnuts reblogged this from mswyrr and added:
    This is a good idea. I will try to tag gifs with “seizure warning” and “epilepsy warning” from now on.
  24. inthebusinessofbeingbroken reblogged this from mindovermatterzine
  25. thetravelingfoodabyss reblogged this from mindovermatterzine and added:
    going skip over reading this, good thing
  26. alisonofagun reblogged this from goldenheartedrose and added:
    Hey, OP. Folks with epilepsy/folks who are otherwise sensitive to flashing gifs do take steps to protect themselves;...
  27. iamthethunder reblogged this from goldenheartedrose and added:
    use it, software...catches flashing...is imperfect. Some...
  28. darrylayo posted this