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Online Culture: Time to Act - Hackers Post Flashing Images on Epilepsy Web Forum
Posted by Norski • 3/31/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Common Sense, epilepsy, health, online community
Hackers put flashing images on an epilepsy Web forum.
Before you start laughing, remember: a small percentage of people with epilepsy are adversely affected by flashing lights. That's putting it nicely.
I submit that it's time to bring online social expectations up to a preschool level, at least. I'm not referring to BlogCatalogers: this is a comparatively civilized part of the 'net.
This could be a good discussion topic, for bloggers with interest in culture, society, psychology, or related topics.
Now, my shameless plug: My post, with a link to a Wired article, is: "Hackers Post Flashing Images on Epilepsy Web Forum:
Big Joke, Boys" ( apatheticlemming.blogspot.com/2008/03/hackers-post-flashing-images-on.html )
User Comments
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That is just sad and wrong. I have a seizure disorder myself and those flashing thingy's are awful for me.
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You're far from alone.
What impressed me was that the people who committed this outrage have crossed the line, and are now inflicting physical harm on recipients of online venom. -
Ugh. People can be such...
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while i agree with you, most of these people were not "hackers." they were a bunch of jerks who posted on a forum. that doesn't take any hacking skillz - just the mind of a whiny-teenage-recluse-arsehole.-
The term "hacker" is debatable in this case, but since a script was used to load the images, and since Wired magazine used the term, I think it's valid.
The level of technical expertise wasn't particularly high: but there were "hacking skillz" involved.
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That's really sad to hear. Unbelievably bad taste.-
"Bad taste" is about the mildest reasonable comment possible, in my opinion.
I'd put the offense quite a bit higher. It's a bit like sabotaging the brakes on a cripple's wheelchair: malicious, and potentially very, very dangerous.
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Idiots like that need a good ass kicken... Any chance they'll be able to figure out who they were?-
Whatchyou say a ninja and a biker go to town?
We'll show them what it' like to have a seizure
hehehe -
Given the fact that it's very hard to be truly anonymous on the 'net, I'd say that the perpetrators can be found, if an effort is made.
Excerpt from the Wired article: "Circumstantial evidence suggests the attack was the work of members of Anonymous, an informal collective of griefers best known for their recent war on the Church of Scientology. The first flurry of posts on the epilepsy forum referenced the site EBaumsWorld, which is much hated by Anonymous. And forum members claim they found a message board thread -- since deleted -- planning the attack at 7chan.org, a group stronghold." -
I read that part, but I wonder, given the other kinds of hacking attacks (and very well done hacking a that) that have been accomplished by "anonymous" if this was really them, or just a fringe group.
I can't see why they would go after epileptics. -
I'm throwing my tap shoes at their heads.
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As I have commented to Ender just moments ago, they are assholes. Each and every one of them.
*shaking head*-
did you just use profanity masked woman!!!
and I quote
excessive profanity, derogatory commentary and general gobbledygook are a waste of time
I will not tolerate this nonsense YOU! -
Hehhehehe, justified profanity is OK though, just all the nonsense filler profanity I don't like
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I thrive on it. It's like water, I would die without it. Or I would never speak. Hmmmm choices.
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I suggest that "assholes" is not a proper or correct term for these people.
The anus, after all, serves a useful function in the body.
I can't, offhand, see what function the hackers in this incident serve in society. -
Touche
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Maybe because they really stink and what they did was shitty!!!
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AmmoBob to the rescue !
LMAO.... -
AmmoBob,
>< Good one. However, that's close to being mere abuse. And those ethically-challenged examples of inadequate social development provide so many targets for legitimate criticism.
And, I hope, legal action.
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Browsers should have a setting maybe for people with that problem so it blocks out those images before they load.
Anything is possible to be built into a browser. Remember the first browsers did nothing at all. Nobody will add features unless someone complains.-
Complains - or suggests.
milkeny07, I think you have a good idea.
How about it? Anyone out there with the skills to make, say, a FireFox extension for this?
Plugins for other browsers? -
You know Mike, that's a great idea.
I mean there are a lot of sites out there that have flashing thingies and whatnot - it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some sort of color/light block just in case this were to happen again, or even if they just happen to accidentally stumble onto a site that has the stuff they can't look at.
Hmmm... -
Great idea! I just have to quickly click away or it really messes with me.
The net used to be full of those, it's not so bad anymore. -
Even people without epilepsy aren't exactly thrilled with flashing gizmos. That's one reason why Web design how-to resources generally recommend against the things, these days.
Again: anybody out there with the right skills? This could be your chance to shine! -
Is there such a thing as "assualt" in relation to things posted on the internet? If not, the case you describe may qualify as the first. -
bnsullivan,
Law, American law at least, is careful about precise definitions. Good news, but that means that new technologies require new definitions.
I agree with you. This incident strikes me as being "assault," even if the weapon was a stream of photons, not a cosh.
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