Comments on: Why Flash is Mostly Bad

By: Adobe

Adobe — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:30:27 +0000

The problems you are talking about are not Flash issues they are design issues . The problem is not Flash, the problem is that there are very few real designers around anymore. As for the plug in every browser for every platform save iOS has it installed when you download it. I am amazed how every time I see an anti-Flash rant, it is always by someone who seemingly knows very little. It would be great if Adobe made flash all open source, but is is going to be tough because of the power of ActionScript.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:07:35 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Pat

Pat — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:06:32 +0000

This article points out some good reasons why not to use Flash. Not to mention, you can’t see Flash content on some mobile devices.

By: Stu

Stu — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:54:57 +0000

Ok…i know absolutely nothing about design or anything like that, and am in no league quite like some of the people that have commented here. I just want to know why: A) Flashplayer plugin crashes on a regular basis…(almost everyday without fail) and an error message comes up. B) Why so far there hasn’t been innovative competition to “Flash Adobe player”…as currently this is the only choice as far as i know.
I feel if there was competition, e.g. like the Electric companies and phone line companies have, then we WOULD have much better service to watch and use things on the web instead of being forced into using a quite frankly inadequate unstable program. Another example of forcing competition to produce better results was when the X-Box games console blew Sonys’ PlayStation out of the water, then Sony were forced to re-think their ideas on going forward. I feel the same needs to happen with flash or adobe designers’, they may not welcome the competition, but general internet users would certainly benifit from this, no question of a doubt. May be some of what i have said doesnt make sense, but as i said before im not a computer expert or design expert of platform expert, whatever you want to call it….I am just a general internet user, a regular guy, that would love to watch things that crash less than once a day and have video play that doesnt stop-start all the time! its too frustrating.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:40:09 +0000

Flash is a tool. like any tool, there’s always those who are happy to wave it around in the air and abuse it because they can. but ultimately, Flash is fun. and fun is a highly underrated experience. so, yeah, Flash is abused. but then so is HTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript. it’s just harder to wave those tools around and we don’t often SEE the results of godawful code.

quit bitching about people having fun. rather, let’s just educate them. then their fun is even more so and we can enjoy the result better.

that of just turn off the computer and go outside.

By: Jeanette

Jeanette — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:51:15 +0000

Always the best content from these prdoiguios writers.

By: Krell

Krell — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:40:51 +0000

I’m not a website developer. I’m not making my living from creating Flash websites. I have no financial stake in Flash use. I’m looking at this strictly from a website user perspective.

I don’t like Flash websites. I find them slow, cumbersome, and annoying. I agree with all the points Josh Walsh makes in his article. They tend to favor form over function, and sacrifice usability to gain a “gee whiz! factor”.

Problems I experience with Flash websites are: delays in getting to the useful content, requiring too many page transitions to get to the information I want; pointless animations that waste my time; annoying music and sounds; inefficient use of the browser window; lack of search capability; no way to link to specific content; no way to copy text from the site.

By: SpaBoom Blog - 2011 Website Design Trends

SpaBoom Blog - 2011 Website Design Trends — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:18:05 +0000

[...] Movement without Flash Flash, distracts users from a websites core content, and introduces a myriad of design problems. While there are a few occasions where flash is acceptable, and can even add value, typically the use of Flash makes websites harder to use. –Josh Walsh, Designing Interactive [...]

By: Firefox Web Browser

Firefox Web Browser — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:17:41 +0000

[...] form of advertising. Maybe a dancing animated GIF that makes you want to claw your eyes out, or a horrible flash animation, complete with theme song. Maybe it’s just a quiet banner telling you to enlarge your penis. [...]

By: Josh Walsh

Josh Walsh — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:30:24 +0000

Dan – With the exception of the flash player being unstable, Flash is not a bad technology. Generally speaking, it’s implementations are less than ideal though.

The experiences which are executed well could have been done with HTML/CSS and been faster and more accessible.

The people who benefit the most from the Flash technology are the designers who are blessed with a very robust development environment.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:05:13 +0000

I like Flash. My customers like Flash. My customers’ customers like using the interactive and high-media experiences we develop in Flash. Flash is not a problem. Bad Flash is a problem.

By: Glass Maze – Idealism

Glass Maze – Idealism — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:13:20 +0000

[...] Ever since it became apparent that the iPad isn’t going to support Flash, John Gruber has been on a tear, throwing up post after post about Flash’s obsolescence, trying to single-handedly usher it into an early grave. And more power to him! I have no love for Flash. It’s a closed product that breaks the web in fundamental ways, overtaxes my CPU, makes online advertising even more annoying, and tempts web designers to do unseemly things. [...]

By: Why I Don’t Like Flash | TRIGGERS & SPARKS

Why I Don’t Like Flash | TRIGGERS & SPARKS — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:35:14 +0000

[...] as they are, there really is very little excuse for it anymore. There are all sorts of reasons why Flash is bad: it’s horrible for search engine optimization, it mucks with usability, [...]

By: Richard Jahmarkt

Richard Jahmarkt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:52:08 +0000

I totally agree. Flash is WAY overused! Still, can’t argue with their market penetration:
http://www.statowl.com/flash.php
As long as it is deployed intelligently, it can be a very useful development tool.

By: The Death of Flash | severelimitation.com

The Death of Flash | severelimitation.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:19:51 +0000

[...] will make it no secret that I am not fond of Flash, and a lot has been written on the web fro many years about the subject. I will not comment on weather or not Flash is good or bad, but I will say that I [...]