Posted by The Tactician\" Luke Michaels on 10/13/26 11:36

Chaddy2222 wrote:
> Bald Purp wrote:
>
>
>>I never bothered to install any Flash plugin, hoping year after year
>>that it would eventually just go away.
>>
>>Are there any cogent arguments against the use of Flash?
>
> Well. It's not very good for issues concerning accessibility.
> There are a lot of other reasons, I have an artticle on my site which
> is on the particular subject.
> http://freewebdesign.cjb.cc/design-tips4.html

===I am ripping this article apart here. If you don't care and just want
to hear my response to the orginal question, scroll down...===

"Note that the website navigational structure has absolutely nothing to
do with anything art related…… So why designers waste their time making
there sites useless is a bit beyond me.."

Totally untrue.

1) The navigation, that is, the part of the website that creates the
interaction between the user and the website, is completely art-related.
Unique navigation is possible with Flash that is not possible with
hyperlinks and the websites that use Flash well have proven this over
and over again.

2) Flash navigation hardly makes a website useless by any stretch of the
imagination. That sounds like arbitrary bias to me.

"The main reason as to why the use of flash for items such as navigation
makes a site useless, is because overall it’s not necessary."

This statement does not make sense. Not everything that is not totally
necessary makes something useless. Otherwise design wouldn't exist, and
we would live in an ugly, grey world like something out of fatpie.

"Due to the fact that the navigation designed using flash is graphic
based, it means that search enjons can not access the content that is
hidden behind the links. Or if they do manage to interpret where the
link is headed, all attempts at seo are a waste of time. As the search
enjons won’t be able to work out what the link says so will not be able
to know its importance."

Firstly, "engines". Typing a word into Google will tell you if it's
spelled right. There's no excuse for this anymore. Also, what is "seo"?

Secondly, this is what meta tags are for.

"So the question is; what are things such as JavaScript and Macromedia
Flash good for. Well, they are ok for small things. To make a page look
good, But they should not be used for vital aspects such as navigation."

I don't think you exactly make a literate point here for me to attack,
but while I'm criticizing, exactly what magic javascript-unique
navigation are we talking about here? Do you just mean rollover images?

"The main reason for this is because you exclude some users. Mainly:
those with disabilities and who need to use adaptive technology, such as
Screen Readers. Also some people do not have access to flash enabled
browsers and some just choose not to use them."

You've made the first valid point in a really horrible way. Yes, some
people don't have access to Flash, so if you want /everyone/ to be able
to access your data you shouldn't use it. Yet, the big advertisers all
use Flash, because it's a more dynamic and exciting medium. So obviously
if you're targeting those demographics Flash is completely fine. And
while Macromedia's 98% claim is pretty suspicious, Internet Explorer
comes with a version of Flash now.

"Note that the same conditions apply when using JavaScript for
navigation and other vital features."

Now, this is pretty silly, on the other hand. JavaScript is a web
standard now. Every modern browser supports it fully and has for years.
You're worrying too hard at this point.

"As an alternative consider just making your links plain text. But the
event that it is not possible to change the existing site.

Consider creating a text only version of the site that contains the same
content as the graphical site .This will not only make your site more
search enjon friendly but it will also make your site more user friendly."

While making a text version of a flash site is a perfectly good
suggestion, what you've done is entirely missed the point...

===to here.===

Flash is a great medium for picture and sound, but it is not an
excellent medium for text. Nor is it supposed to be. Making an entire
website in Flash is alright if you don't have a lot to say, text-wise,
and just want to present multimedia, or if your primary goal is for the
website to be dynamic, eye-catching, and attention-grabbing. The people
who can't see your site probably can't see that kind of multimedia
anyway or don't care.

There's no reason, however, not to install the flash plug-in if your
browser and your computer can handle it. If you don't, you're missing
out on some pretty cool stuff.

--
"The Tactician" Luke Michaels
Outsmarting the wiliest wrestling legends since 2000

Anointed - Are you on fire for GOD, Scotty?

Scotty (Lowtax) - YES SIR I AM ON FIRE

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