In a recent discussion @AffyAvo and @cloudySummer proposed a new option setting that would freeze GIF animations. Then each animation would only run when you hover your mouse pointer over it, making the feed and the forum less distracting.
I was wondering how difficult this might be, and so I published a simple prototype that should work in many web browsers. I think it works well enough to be useful, but it's not perfect. To try the prototype, you first need Tampermonkey. Then install the script from here: 7 Cups - GIF freezer
This prototype freezes most animations and displays a snowflake on the frozen image, like the picture above. In actual use, hover over the image to see the animation. (The one in this post is only a picture!)
One unresolved problem is that some GIFs are stills, not animations, so when you hover your mouse the snowflake disappears but nothing else happens. Some animations are not GIFs, or they are GIFs with the wrong file type, so they continue to animate all the time. And you might occasionally see the snowflake when there's no image at all.
I can't fully and cleanly resolve these problems because some of the websites where people find GIFs impose a weird security restriction on them. A better solution would have to be created within 7 Cups or in a custom browser extension, as far as I can tell.
Also, hover only works if you have a pointing device like a mouse or a stylus. Something different would be needed on a device that only has a touch screen.
Conclusion: A simple solution like this prototype would be easy for 7 Cups to implement in the website and the app, but a complete solution that solves all the problems would be more complicated.
Charlie
