A bigger question here is why not build FLIF as a document format using an established container? Why not use something established, mainstream and non controversial like TIFF as the container and FLIF as the codec. I'm kind of sick of this "new file format and file extension for no good reason" crap. MKV as a container and I dont care about codec because FFMPEG/VLC/etc support all the codecs is great, it hides all the complexity and enables codec experimentation without hassle. FLIF is an image encoding/decoding scheme that would be completely compatible inside a TIFF image if implemented correctly.
Why do I care about having a "dot flif" file when the new codec is the important improvement?
Is '*.flif' actually a good thing?
Personally I don't think so, mainly because without a mechanism to drive adoption in browsers, the format offers very little value to anyone over existing formats. TIFF would be a decent solution to that problem. ... And the fact that FireFox has marked TIFF support as WONTFIX is actually pretty indicative of how unlikely they are to support a new format such as FLIF. Sad but true. From what I already see of the FireFox support thread for FLIF, its not going to happen any time soon.
Why do I care about having a "dot flif" file when the new codec is the important improvement?
Is '*.flif' actually a good thing?
Personally I don't think so, mainly because without a mechanism to drive adoption in browsers, the format offers very little value to anyone over existing formats. TIFF would be a decent solution to that problem. ... And the fact that FireFox has marked TIFF support as WONTFIX is actually pretty indicative of how unlikely they are to support a new format such as FLIF. Sad but true. From what I already see of the FireFox support thread for FLIF, its not going to happen any time soon.