That last post reminded me of one of the things I hate more than just about anything on the web:  websites that use Flash for all their content.  I have two words to describe such sites:  THEY SUCK!

Allow me to enumerate the ways in which I hate Flash:

1. You can’t deep-link to relevant content.

   As far as I’ve seen, there’s no way to get at the content that you want without going through the Flash gatekeeper, which is often adorned with baroque crap that you have to tolerate as you navigate your way through whatever path the designer decided was best.

2. As far as I can tell, you can’t copy text.

   So much for fair use or reference.  And you can’t just quote the relevant part or hotlink (see previous).  If you want to point someone to the information (if there is any in a Flash presentation), you have to describe the navigation path.

3. It risks turning the web into TV.

   I know some content producers desperately want it to be that way (commercials and all), but it completely disrupts the browsing experience.

4. Most Flash sites are simply “glossy brochures.”

   If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, dazzle ‘em with B.S.  This is not what the web is supposed to be about.  Sure, go ahead and extoll the virtues of your product, but I want real, useful, information at the same time.

5. It often slows down the web experience.

   The best example of this is the Heart One Texas site.  It has to download all the audio/video for the clever woman announcer.  It was painfully slow over my 15M link.  I’d hate to have to access that craptacular thing over dialup.

6. Sound!

   I consider playing sound without warning on a website as a mortal web design sin.  Further, having no way to disable the sound or stop the animation is another mortal sin.  Of course this can be done without Flash, but Flash sites seem to be the worst offenders.

Maybe I’m just a bit old-fashioned about my expectations for a website, but I want to be able to get at relevant information quickly and without a lot of flashy crap.