
Disable Flash support by default in Firefox 69 - doener
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1519434
======
gpm
Flash is already disabled by default, by virtue of not being installed by
default. It is also disabled by default, by virtue of being click to play by
default.

What this actually means, per the roadmap [0], is "stop telling users what
they need to do to make the website work".

[0] [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Plugins/Roadmap](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Plugins/Roadmap)

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grenadier21
I wonder what's going to happen to all the incredible Flash media, especially
games, produced over the years. I hope someone's archiving them, because I'd
hate for us to lose them.

~~~
err4nt
This should be a solemn reminder about proprietary (especially binary) file
formats. They serve a purpose but are an awful way to archive things of value.

I truly hope that we have learned our lesson from Flash and choose formats
like SVG (human readable and an open standard) from now on for things like
animations and games.

~~~
shittyadmin
> I truly hope that we have learned our lesson from Flash and choose formats
> like SVG (human readable and an open standard) from now on for things like
> animations and games.

At least with a flash game, you can often just download the .swf file and run
it however you like.

With HTML-based stuff, you're often reliant on a server being up. Authoring
tools are also just not what they were with flash - the sheer number of
quality vector-based games and animations has dropped like a rock. I'm not
sure if this is something Adobe will resolve eventually, but at the moment
it's just kinda sad.

~~~
tiuPapa
Not true. Browsers work with file addresses on your system. You can download
an HTML file and all its JS and CSS and if navigate to the path of the HTML on
the disk, the website would just behave as if it were served by a static
server.

~~~
chrismeller
While true for simple things, this is one of those things that’s highly
variable depending upon how you built your app. If all your JS is included via
script tags and all your image assets are referenced directly, sure, probably.

When anything is dynamically generated things get iffy, though. It’s one of
the big problems both Google and services like the Wayback Machine and
Pinboard have had with searching and preserving content.

Of course gaming as a whole has also evolved, so it’s less likely you’d ever
get a purely single player game in the first place, and who knows if the game
will even load in 10 years if it can’t connect to the server to see if you’re
registered or not.

------
chrismorgan
Per
[https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Calendar](https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Calendar),
the projected release date for Firefox 69 (stable) is 2019-09-03.

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giancarlostoro
They've warned about this for a while now, good to see it going through.

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homero
I just finished uninstalling flash on all my computers and it feels great, not
as great as uninstalling java though years ago. There's finally no sites that
require it. I can thank the mobile first trend for this.

------
braythwayt
[https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-
flash/](https://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/)

\--Steve Jobs, "Thoughts on Flash," 2010

~~~
Jonnax
Took 9 years for it to get chucked out of the PC space.

The annoying thing is that with the rise of the open web, fingerprinting has
become significantly easier.

Private browsing or a VPN doesn't make you anonymous because your web browser
is fingerprint-able because of the peculiarities of the hardware its running
on.

That not to mention things like Google Chrome for Android that puts your phone
model and software build number in the user agent. That puts you in a very
small population especially with carrier customised software versions.

Combine that with even the basics of fingerprinting,
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvas_fingerprinting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canvas_fingerprinting))
then you are known.

~~~
andrepd
You can disable or cripple fingerprinting by disabling or faking the data you
send.

~~~
chrismeller
Tails even warns you about resizing the Tor Browser window because the size of
the window could fingerprint you.

The difficulty of avoiding fingerprinting multiplies exponentially depending
upon how paranoid you are (or need to be). Keeping Google from knowing
(passively) who you are is one level. Keeping the oppressive governmental
regime you’re exposing the corruption of that has a dedicated secret police
force actively attempting to track you by name is completely a different one.

------
sneakernets
Until it's easy to recreate a Strong Bad E-Mail in HTML5, Easter eggs and all,
Flash doesn't deserve to die.

~~~
112233
Ask NH: How do you watch Homestar Runner in 2019?

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crysin
Will this force HBO to switch from Flash now? That'd be nice because HBO is
the only service I actively use that still requires Flash and it hurts me
every time I have to give it permission to run.

------
lmm
Jeez. I'd been thinking about switching to Firefox now that Chrome is making
me re-enable Flash every time I visit a website, but guess there's no point.

~~~
driverdan
Why do you want Flash? Unless you're using a very outdated proprietary piece
of software that can't be updated there's no reason for it.

~~~
lmm
I'm visiting sites that use it, many of which aren't updated (for flash games
in particular the original creator may not even be around).

------
jraph
Seeing this feels a bit like when the end of production of floppy disks by
Sony was announced in 2010.

"Oh but they were still being produced?"

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hateful
But... but... zombo.com

~~~
cribbles
[https://html5zombo.com/](https://html5zombo.com/)

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geofft
Nice.

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aboutruby
Another reason for people to switch to Chrome

~~~
clouddrover
Adobe themselves have abandoned Flash. They announced the end of life for
Flash quite some time ago:

[https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-flash-
update/](https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-flash-update/)

All browsers will block Flash soon enough. It has no future.

