Feature #7823
closedanimated gif on frontpage
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Description
Hi Boone,
Lisa noted that the gif in this post -- https://netart.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2017/03/22/availability/ -- is a bit startling, and I wonder whether it may actually be dangerous given this recent story -- http://www.newsweek.com/kurt-eichenwald-twitter-seizure-arrest-john-rivello-569813
Should we have a way of preventing gifs from showing up in the newsfeed on the frontpage of the site? And what do you think of removing this image from the feed?
Updated by Boone Gorges about 7 years ago
- Status changed from Assigned to Reporter Feedback
Removing this one seems sane. I've done so.
In terms of prevention, it's easy to filter out embedded gifs, but this is perhaps too wide a net - gifs have plenty of non-animated uses.
We could detect on the server whether a gif in this stream is animated, but it'll take a bit more work. Here is some PHP code: http://it.php.net/manual/en/function.imagecreatefromgif.php#59787 It's also possible to do it in the browser: https://github.com/mailcharts/animated-gif-detector Let me know if you want me to do it.
Updated by Luke Waltzer about 7 years ago
Perhaps we can continue to explore best practices on this? I'd hate to surrender the dynamism that gifs can inject into an activity stream (Ryan's work is awesome) if there are other ways to protect vulnerable visitors...
Updated by Boone Gorges about 7 years ago
Right - the vast majority of animated gifs are fine.
Updated by Matt Gold about 7 years ago
- Category name set to Home Page
- Status changed from Reporter Feedback to Resolved
Ban all the gifs!!! Ban all the gifs!!!!
<takes a deep breath>
Okay -- I can see the argument for not instituting an outright ban on animated gifs on the front page news feed. Let's see if this problem recurs, and if it does, we can tackle the wider question then.
In the meantime, thanks for your quick work on this Boone.