"Flash is just a tool, just like a screwdriver or
and airbrush. It can do some things extremely well but if you try to
use it to drive in nails or give a charcoal effect you won't meet with
much success. That comes down to the person that is using it, not the
tool itself."
"I'm precisely on your side on this, and I'd
really like to see your challenge either met, or at least not met with
the most possible attention."
"My guess is that what we typically see are sites
where the graphics professionals are doubling as the web designers and
the customer experience is neglected as a result. I see the bad Flash
sites as a symptom of a team deficient in web designers and usability
folks."
"Flash is best used as a display showcase for
businesses whose main product may not be an internet only or internet
mainly product. I can think of excellent examples of the use of
flash for architecture firm sites and for music industry and video /
tv industry."
"I will however argue that flash is a tool which
can help develop Brand Identity, emotion can be breathed into a brand
/ product and generate an image for the consumer that they may not
have got without the use of a dynamic media (like flash or shockwave)."
"It does not detract from the experience, but
adds to it. And in the case of Final Fantasy, makes me want to see the
flick."
"Flash as a technology is neutral as to user
interface. Did you know this? It's possible to build a regular old
HTML 3.2-looking web site using Flash alone. Or it's possible to build
an animated splash screen. Or it's possible to build a desktop
application-like user interface entirely in Flash."
"I still shop at brick and mortar stores for a
number of reasons, not the least of which is that the web is slow,
insecure, invasive and often just doesn't function. If you're
really concerned about effective e-commerce, open a direct market
retailer - you'll have a bigger market, a usable interface and
probably actually make a profit (unlike most of the businesses on the
web)."
"No one ever intended FLASH to be primarily an
e-commerce tool. But it can and does work HAND-IN-HAND with other
technologies very successfully."
"Flash. No flash. Who cares?"
"I love Flash. Just not on any website I
visit."
"Why use profit as a filter? I thought you were
concerned about usability -- which has a questionable
relationship with profitability."
"I agree with you wholeheartedly that e-commerce
Flash sites generally are only good for designers' egos; however,
Flash can be very effective as a marketing tool in a site's outskirts.
I do not use Flash on my sites."
"I'm just as frustrated with Flash as you are,
but I don't think the tool is to blame. It's true that Flash makes it
extremely easy for designers to publish a 600K site with sound and all
that crap that ultimately gets in the way of anyone ever buying
anything, but there's no reason that Flash, in the right hands, can be
made to help people out with what they are trying to do online."
"I was discussing you argument with my colleagues
and one of them mentioned the term 'flashturbation' (n. The practice
of using Macromedia Flash on Web sites for nothing more than
demonstrating its cool "whiz-bang" features) - v.
funny..."
"Unfortunately, there will always be bead design,
FLASH or no FLASH."
"It is our responsibility as developers to
explore and understand new technologies."
"Shoot, John, if I had a million bucks I'd offer
it up. You can rest assured that your $150 will remain safe."
"When I found myself, getting annoyed with waiting for a Flash intro to finish on a site, and skipping it (whenever
Possible), I knew that it was not the tool for me."
"quite frankly, having done extensive usability
on a site rarely makes or breaks a site. good enough usability coupled
with a strong brand, excellent market research, and a lot of common
sense can generally lead to success."
"My only complaint about Flash is its lack of
cut-and-paste options. At Flash sites, I'm unable to copy and paste
contact info (or other research) which becomes extremely tiresome
after a while..."
"Rather harsh forcing a Flash-driven Web site to
show its profitability on its own merits when 90% of HTML sites can't
do the same thing, isn't it?"
"Instead of jumping on the Jakob Nielson
bandwagon trashing sites, and web technologies right and left, why
don't you find what DOES work and WHY it works and spread some joy,
and usability."
"How long does the web have to worry about those
that don't get it? Maybe we should abandon all Flash,
animations, JavaScript rollovers, animated gifs so that people who
don't get it can feel a part of this big world wide web."
"Go back to using your <blink>blink
tag</blink> and code for your 2.0 browsers, and make your
website. Then in a year come back and tell us how much you made
on it without using these technologies."
"So you know, I think Flash is evil too, but I
want the money."
"You are obviously a primitive dinosaur mind."
(My favorite.)
"You are lame. I spit on you, your Linux boxes
and your theoretical revenue models. Go invent something, ok?"
"Most of what you see out there are funky designs
and sites, which are pleasing to the eye, but not much more."
"P.S. I agree with you, Flash is cool, but when I
shop, I like for the site to adhere to the KISS principle (Keep it
simple stupid)"
"We now reach a stage in web technology where an
average company can afford, based on the stats, to balance the loss of
some viewers with the added benefits in user experience that can be
offered by Flash."
"The contest idea was awesome. I'm only disappointed somebody won."
"I have no problem designing and telling visitors
if you don't have Flash or QuickTime, go away and get it or move on.
They either will educate themselves, or they will linger in the
netherworld of Beanie Babies and Chat rooms."
"Seizure inducing."
"That's where the MORONS come in. I would like to
go on about them as a sub-culture, but I won't. Suffice it to say,
should flash become a prevalent tool for navigation and display of
visual info, these guys will fall aside and take the bones cast down
by the pros."
"For me personally, use of Flash is just second nature, I wouldn't do it any other way, it doesn't make any sense to me to
do it any other way, because I know it's the best way."
"So cough up the money."
