Why shouldn't I use Flash?

Question

I\'ve heard many times that I should avoid flash for my website. Yet no one has told me a good reason for this. I\'ve searched for reasons and I see many that are not true (such

Answer 1

A major reason not to use Flash is because Adobe Flash is proprietary software. This means it is developed solely by a single company, and the source code is not available to the public. This is bad because:

• Flash is really only available for the platforms that Adobe decides to support. Currently, the list includes Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux (if you have a certain kind of CPU). A lot of platforms and architectures are marginalized, most notably the iPad/iPhone. That doesn't just hurt those weird people using FreeBSD on SPARC or whatever, it limits adoption of such platforms.
• Many people morally object to installing any proprietary software at all for various reasons:
  • Using proprietary software lessens interest in free alternatives. Also, Flash is the biggest roadblock of a fully open Web.
  • Running software you (or the public) don't have control over makes it more likely that someone else might use it to spy on you.

There are a few open source Flash implementations, such as gnash and swfdec. However, last time I checked, most Flash content simply does not work with them.

Although Flash has a bad reputation for being associated with intrusive ads and gaudy effects, this could also be said about excessive JavaScript. Just because a technology is often abused doesn't mean it should be considered harmful and shunned categorically. In my opinion, Flash as a technology is actually really great. However, (primarily) because it is proprietary, Flash limits accessibility and adoption of new technologies.

Answer 2

Flash is a tool just like PHP, ASP.NET, Ruby On Rails. Like any framework you can do sites that are good and bad. Any tool can be abused, Flash has gotten a bad rap because there are many annoying sites that use Flash. However that are FAR more that use Flash in a good way.

Answer 3

Why I don't use flash:

• I have to pay to use, but I can't have a free simpler tool for using flash.

• The concept, most of flash sites uses some fancy presentation.

• I can do the same things using javascript. Without using big tool.

• You have to install a plug-in to play it, some people have problems to do that(really I've seen it once, I can see it again)

• Stopped impressing me, really all the things I can see in flash, I've saw years ago. Nothing in flash have stunned me. So I think that won't be more.

So if I can use a feature like javascript, that's impressing over the years, and getting more libraries and plug-ins everyday. Why I would use something that I have to pay for it, that haven't done something great, since...

Answer 4

Rich internet apps (regardless of framework) go against the original intent of the web. That being said even the w3c is getting on the bandwagon with html5. So the best advice is probably use it when you need to and avoid it when you don't.

Answer 5

The problem with Flash is that as a proprietary standard, it is limited and not flexible with regard to community input. Other than IE, it is the greatest hindrance, IMHO, to a mature web and limits imagination and innovation.

A mature web is one with content fully controlled by the user. As such, that user should be able to do such things as go forward/backward in history, adjust the size of their display, or even choose not to have any visual display at all. Content and style should be separate. Markup should give context to content. Flash does none of this, but can be added to a site that does.

So, if you want to serve your visitors a hollow magazine page with video and links, or if you are of the opinion that your visitors should view your content only in the way that you have predetermined, then Flash is the only tool you may need. If you want to add functionality at the expense of progress, then Flash is a great addition to your site. Every tool has a trade off.

Answer 6

Flash is, by far, the best multimedia plugin for the browser there is.

It gets a lot of flak surrounding its accessibility and "annoyance" level, but these stem from people using it for sub-optimal purposes: eg, building an entire site in flash, pop-over advertising. As such, I would disregard this criticism. You can imagine that if there were a trend towards people replacing all the text on their websites with jpegs, there would be a lot of complaints, but it would be silly to blame Photoshop or the <img> tag for that trend.

Flash is 100% perfectly suited to purposes such as animation, video, audio, and gaming. Use Flash on your site when you need to use elements such as these.