Banish Macromedia Now!

OK, this is a rant, but it can't be helped.

Macromedia makes the software that clamps onto your browser and lets it play fancy animations. This is all well and good, but for the fact that it is no longer just funky splash screens and extraneous page graphics. It has been hijacked by advertisers at sites like Yahoo and ESPN to place ads in front of what you are trying to look at!

These ads are typically accompanied by bright flashes and sound to attract your attention.

Even worse, the player cannot be simply disabled, or even set to prompt you on whether it should play animations. It just launches into them without your approval! This degrades the web browsing experience for everyone and you should not tolerate it.

I'm not the only one who thinks so. Read about Flash from a few others:

     Dack: "Flash is Evil!"
     UseIt.com: "Flash is 99% Bad"

To uninstall the player, visit this page: Macromedia Support FAQ. My advice is to delete the entire folder mentioned in the right-hand column. That's what I did, and it worked perfectly, deleting not just the current version, but a handful of older versions that were left over.

Then, whenever you get the prompt to reinstall a Macromedia product, click NO with gusto! The important thing to realize is that you will not be missing anything. Beyond advertising, these plug-ins are rarely used for anything but goofy and superfluous graphics or the occasional very simple game. Some people claim that this is the future of the web. If so, they can have it.

Next, be sure to write to the webmaster at any site which uses this software, telling them that you will not reinstall the Macromedia players because they have the capability of interfering with what you are trying to do, and they are very rude about it. Here's the letter I recently wrote to ESPN.com:

I just wanted you to know that your stupid golf advertisements
(where the sound of a golf club swinging can be heard) have prompted me
to remove once-and-for-all the Macromedia players from my system.

This stuff is obnoxious and must go away -- far, far away!

Banner ads are obnoxious enough, but at least they don't jump in front
of what I'm trying to read and make noise which inevitably startles me
or anyone within hearing range of the computer.

Drop them. Really. Whatever you're getting paid, it's not enough. You're
pissing off your customers -- like me.

Update: September 15, 2002 - I've discovered that uninstalling the software is not enough! Savvy weasel-webmasters have figured out how to play Flash animations even if the software is not installed on your system! This is beyond unacceptable. It is downright intrusive and prompted the following second angry message to ESPN.com:

I love ESPN's baseball coverage. But I will DISCONTINUE
VISITING YOUR SITE unless you discontinue the use of Macromedia Flash
advertisements which jump in front of what I'm trying to read.

These advertisements are obnoxious, noisy and invasive. Whatever you are
getting paid, IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY THE INTRUSION.

Today I discovered that your programmers have figured out a way to run
Flash ads even though I uninstalled Flash from my system. This is
especially heinous, and I will absolutely not accept it.

If you want to continue advertising to me by way of animated GIFs et.
al. you will have to discontinue the use of Flash.

Thank you. This rant is now complete. Please return to browsing at your leisure.