Re: [csswg-drafts] [css-images] Disabling image animation (#1615)

@ChasBelov 

The suggested functionality does not mean that the browser itself couldn't also have the ability to suppress gif animations (or videos for that matter). The proposed control here would not forcibly make GIFs play when the user has, as you have, turn on some setting to disable animation. Browsers that want to offer this setting could absolutely continue to. The proposal here is the other way around: allow the author to pause (and resume) animated images that would otherwise play automatically.

The browser doesn't know which GIFs are decorative bits whose animation can be suppressed outright when users when reduced motion, and which are content, which should remain viewable if desired (but maybe upon clicking some play button instead of on hover). So, as it is, if the browser forcibly suppresses animation of images, you will either no have means to individually turn them back on (as is case for Safari and Firefox), or have some UI element for every stopped GIF, even the decorative ones with superfluous animations that wouldn't need one. Besides, since the browser, not the author, inserts this UI element, there's no way for the author to control where it goes, and it might clash with the site's own UI. Say, for example, that a flashy/tacky website has pulsating / sparkling images used as buttons. It wouldn't be great if a GIF-stopping browser added play buttons on its own onto that site's GIF-based buttons, it's GIF-based checkboxes, etc. But if it doesn't, it also doesn't add them to videos-as-GIFs, since it doesn't know the difference.

`prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` is a signal that the user and its user agent give to the author, so that they can control how to reduce motion in a way that's appropriate for the given content. (It can also be combined with other measures, but at its core, that's what it does). But for that to work, the author needs to have the ability to react. Currently they don't.

> I currently have my browser (Firefox) set to not play animated gifs at all, but I'd like the option to actively choose to play some of them when I'm good and ready.

The feature above could be leveraged to introduce something like that. In addition to the existing forcible and irreversible stop of all image animations, browsers could introduce (something like) `image-animation: synchronized | independent | paused <time>?`, and then add `@media (prefers-reduced-motion) { img { image-animation: paused; } }` to their ua-stylesheets. This would stop all animations, but it would also let the author turn in back on on a case by case basis, through some site-appropriate UI.

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Received on Thursday, 1 May 2025 10:34:20 UTC