Web nuisances are getting more nuisiancy.

[elfs]

Note to all web producers out there: if your Flash app messes with my volume settings and suddenly and without warning turns up the music I'm currently listening to VERY LOUD and inflicts pain, you will have lost my business.

CBS's news site did that to me this morning.

My computer is not a television and this is not the Outer Limits. You do not control the audio, or the video, nor all I see and hear. I do.

Comments

[lionman.livejournal.com]

They'll stop when someone sues them for a huge chunk of money for hearing damage.

[giza.livejournal.com]

Or blown out speakers.

[kengr]

This, like endlessly looping midi files as "background", is something that is apt to get them sued under the ADA. Because both will screw with the screen readers used by the blind.

*all* sound should be optional, as should all video.

And don't get me started on hard coded font sizes or "cute" text & background colors that wind up making things hard to read because they forgot about some of the other colors that default (like "visited link").

[elfs.livejournal.com]

That's the problem. The sound was optional. The flash app came up and said "Click to watch." It didn't play anything, it just set my own audio to maximum volume. Ouch!

[kengr]

Ok. That makes even less sense than the pages that shrink my browser window!

[fallenpegasus]

And *why* is the system volume something that the Flash plugin is allowed to monkey with? I consider that a bug in Flash.

It's a general complaint I have...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...FAR too much software, for Linux and Windows both, fiddles with the Master Volume or Master PCM hardware adjustment instead of adjusting its own output level.

Re: It's a general complaint I have...

[srmalloy.livejournal.com]

I'm perpetually annoyed at Winamp for doing this; I always get blasted out of my seat playing City of Villains after listening to MP3 files with Winamp.

Re: It's a general complaint I have...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

Actually, City of Heroes/Villains is a great example of a program that gets it right. It modifies the output it gives to the sound system, instead of modifying the sound system directly.

Re: It's a general complaint I have...

[srmalloy.livejournal.com]

You misunderstand; it's Winamp that's the problem; I turn up the volumn on Winamp to have the music at an acceptable level, and it leaves my master volume cranked up, so that CoX is now too loud.

flashblock

[(Anonymous)]

Bar none, flashblock is my favorite addon for firefox. All flash is blocked unless I click on it. Which is good, cause even if it didn't mess with my volume settings, flash still does not have a separate volume control of its own. (I keep my main volume high, but set the programs to play at lower volumes, flash just blares out with no regard for my eardrums)

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I vaguely recall, years ago, seeing a circuit for a limiter, which I think was meant for headphones. There was some subsequent discussion of why it wouldn't work on the sort of sound processing that creates those too-loud adverts on TV.

It's years since I did anything involving a soldering iron. I don't think I want a reminder of the smell of scorthed fur...

[(Anonymous)]

As a user of aforementioned screen reader software I can vouch that things messing with your master volume is a royal pain in the behind. That's why I use Windows media player, one thing Microsoft actually did properly... at least in respect to the volume controls. If something messes with my master volume (like Power DVD) it screws up the volume of the speech output too.

BTW, the site seems good enough with my software Elf. Nice work.