What is the point of Flash on webpages?

jonnyd · May 23, 2007

Never mind - I was just yapping in the anything goes forum. This'll look like a flame thread in a webdesign forum

giulio · May 23, 2007

I think the point of flash is to cripple G4 CPUs.

jonnyd · May 23, 2007

giulio said:
I think the point of flash is to cripple G4 CPUs.

Oh, so it's not all negative then.

beetyjoose · May 28, 2007

what else would you skip if there were no flash intros?

Brown Study · May 28, 2007

beetyjoose said:
what else would you skip if there were no flash intros?

Having to flush Flash's cookies if the privacy settings aren't set correctly.

jonnyd · May 28, 2007

beetyjoose said:
what else would you skip if there were no flash intros?

I have to say - although it's an interesting idea, that flickaday site you posted just confirms it. A 'countup' to load each 120 x 120px photo . . . :Not-Amused:

Yay! Go flash. ZZZzzzz . . . . .

The Recluse · May 31, 2007

I thought Flash was there to annoy people, It annoys the .............. out of me.

digitalscrap · May 31, 2007

Glad to see that I'm not the only person that feels this way. I really dislike using flash, and unless a client REALLY insists on it, I will use an optimized animated .gif for people who just have to have animation on their pages. I tend to not like animations on pages at all, but maybe I'm just old school.

jonnyd · May 31, 2007

digitalscrap said:
Glad to see that I'm not the only person that feels this way. I really dislike using flash, and unless a client REALLY insists on it, I will use an optimized animated .gif for people who just have to have animation on their pages. I tend to not like animations on pages at all, but maybe I'm just old school.

I think a little of it to draw the eye is OK (although in truth I don't think it's necessary), but the whole idea of needing a preloader for example is just lunacy - if you need to entertain me while your eye candy loads . . . *click*

I just think it busts the whole idea of having the client do all the work.

There are a few things you really can't do with HTML, so maybe there are reasons to have it. But there's no reason to drop HTML altogether and give me a 3mb cartoon show.

giulio · May 31, 2007

The only thing I couldn't figure out how to do ih HTML is rotate an image.
I got resize, blur, move, opacity, transitions, even multi-track sounds.

Aptmunich · May 31, 2007

This is the point of flash:

http://www.h-e-t.de/

The sad part is, I know this person... and he also offers webdesign services.. *argh*!

jonnyd · May 31, 2007

Aptmunich said:
This is the point of flash:

http://www.h-e-t.de/

The sad part is, I know this person... and he also offers webdesign services.. *argh*!

I'm sure he's a very nice chap

Try this one. Every page has a preloader. It's not like they're a small brand either. Some of the preloaders end up on a page that is 'undefined'. Complete dogs breakfast.

http://www.redbull.com/

BIG D 04 · May 31, 2007

I don't think Flash is necessarily bad, I think the way Sites handle the fact that you may not have it or have chosen to disable it, is worse than actually having it.

I mean when you go to a Site and it simply says Install Flash Player to view this Site, it's goes for all Plug-Ins I think at the very least professional sites should provide methods for individuals to access content without the need for any 3rd Party Plug Ins installed.

The Recluse · May 31, 2007

BIG D 04 said:
I don't think Flash is necessarily bad, I think the way Sites handle the fact that you may not have it or have chosen to disable it, is worse than actually having it.

I mean when you go to a Site and it simply says Install Flash Player to view this Site, it's goes for all Plug-Ins I think at the very least professional sites should provide methods for individuals to access content without the need for any 3rd Party Plug Ins installed.

If something requires a plugin or loads a large preloader, I tend to click away. If pro sites understood what I do is what a lot of other people do perhaps they would get hold of their web developer and string him up.

Just look at those sites which do not use flash , then look at that company's balance sheet. I rest my case m'lord.

Willem · May 31, 2007

Why does OSX have fancy genie minimize effects and ripple effects and so on? Eye candy. Some people want their web experience to be pimped up. Some don't.

jonnyd · May 31, 2007

I'm surprised at this actually - this did start out as a rather unsubtle Flash-bashing post in the anything goes forum, and I edited it out when it got moved here.

But so far nobody has really tried to defend Flash at all - the best we've got is neutrality.

I'm curious to know how Flash fits into 'web 2.0'. While IMHO it doesn't fit at all with the 'simple content' philosophy, it is maybe better than simple html for the interactive part.

Gotta say though, I shall continue to ignore anything flash until bandwidth makes loading time as quick as standard webpages, which will probably never happen, as fatter bandwidth will just = more bloated content.

Willem · May 31, 2007

I think Flash isn't being defended because it's somewhat outdated at this point. You're right, it doesn't really have a point anymore. Ajax, Ruby, etc are all superceding it.

jonnyd · May 31, 2007

Willem said:
Why does OSX have fancy genie minimize effects and ripple effects and so on? Eye candy. Some people want their web experience to be pimped up. Some don't.

Well, I switch all that off too. You're quite correct it's personal choice though, but if I was responsible for marketing a product or service on the web, and I was aware that my website was causing people to exercise their choice to go elsewhere, I'd want to do something about it.

There's no question that *some* people simply won't visit Flash sites. They block Flash. I can't imagine anybody leaves a site because it doesn't have Flash, so Flash is a one way street - it only ever drives people away.

I'm talking about the really stupid end of the market though - webpages that take 30 seconds to load. If Flash loads at the same time, or after the main content, it won't bother me. It's when you have to sit twiddling your thumbs waiting for ANYTHING to happen that it's an obvious intrusion.

giulio · May 31, 2007

If flash is done right, I like it. Classy, slick, and unobtrsive. I dont like CHECK THIS OUT ITS FLASH!! You can't bookmark flash. I'm not sure if you can print it. It kills CPU.
But some sites have flash elements and do it correctly.

sidewinder · May 31, 2007

What do you think about this site?