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Thread: [Resolved] [Resolved] STOP FLASHING FOR FLASH'S SAKE

  1. #21
    Originally posted by somethinginteractive

    anyway the moral of this story is that after i'd delivered functionality, flash was no longer a dirty word, people began to 'trust' and even 'respect' it as an interface.

    smi
    Sounds interesting, can you give us a URL?

    Also, check this site for a neat quick Flash intro/splash. Ironically, the main page of the site is also done in Flash and is somewhat poor.

    http://www.eauk.org

  2. #22
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    sorry no url

    the stuff i was talking about is currently designed as standalone. but we're working on a preview that will be up on our site in a few weeks...hopefully - the whole site is being revamped so it could take longer - as these things do

    smi

  3. #23
    they call me the_jump... le_saut's Avatar
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    Sorry about my spelling in the above thread, I just checked it!! Winter just starting here, temps down to 5 deg C at night so my fingers acting independently of my brain.

    Am working on site content at the mo, will post in the site check when beta test is raring to go.

    Cheers

    James

  4. #24
    Keeper of ubiquity bm289's Avatar
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    Whther or not to flash :/

    As a web developer/designer, mouthfull I know, I like flash. But let me explain, I know that many of you out there seem to feel that many of the reasons that people use flash for on a daily basis, (fading buttons, unnecessary intros, and a host of other reasons) are completely and utterly useless and can be done with simple Javascripting or Java itself. That there seems to be no real need for Flash maybe. But here is the deal, If you take a web designer or artist which typically is much more visually oriented than technically oriented, then flash becomes a gift from the gods.

    Why? well, in order to get a visually stunning and semi-snazzy design out of flash doesn't take an amount of technical and/or programming proficiency that some of us here have. I personally am an all in one deal. I can design, layout, and implement a website, no matter which way the client goes, but not everyone that makes webdesign their stock and trade can take the time to learnhow to program in Javascript, or Java. And to be honest, not everyone has the proficiency to become a programmer.

    Besides, most of the flash sites i create come in at about 60 - 98K. Normally if it is going to be any bigger than that I create a hybrid page using HTML and flash. Allowing for graphics to download one slice at a time. just my two cents.

  5. #25
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    Re: Whther or not to flash :/

    Originally posted by bm289
    I can design, layout, and implement a website, no matter which way the client goes, but not everyone that makes webdesign their stock and trade can take the time to learnhow to program in Javascript, or Java. And to be honest, not everyone has the proficiency to become a programmer.
    I don't disagree with all you're saying, but I do have to disagree with this statement - like someone should be regarded as a "web designer" with the neccesary skills?? Is that like a driving a car without a licence - yes it can be done, but there are certain basic skills that should be part of even the most basic toolkit.

    Flash should always be looked at as a "value add". EVEN if all you are developing n is Flash. If you don't know how to develop in other technologies, then how on earth can you honestly give a client the best advice on what to use, even if the best answer is Flash.

    This is what just leaves me dumbfounded, and a little peeved because unfortunately it's what allows people to charge some pissy little amount and try to pass it off as a "professional" job.

    Sorry for a bit of a rant, but I for one would LOVE to see some industry requirements come on at some stage to ensure that the cowboys can't rip people off.

    (and that's not to suggest anyone here is a cowboy, it's just the suggestion that one should regard themself as a professional without a full toolkit so to speak)

    Cheers
    Dave

  6. #26
    they call me the_jump... le_saut's Avatar
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    whether or not to flash

    The ability to provide a very large (not filesize) 100% SWF site to a client within a small file size has come a step closer with the ability to dynamically load jpegs in and to source content from a database.

    The amount of content that can be displayed in a 25kb SWF framework is quite large and the amount piped thru from the server depends solely on what the browser requests, not what the deisgner/developer needs to embed within the SWF file.

    Finally the tech is catching up to what has been taken for granted in Markup Language for the last 10 years or more.

    rgds

    James


  7. #27
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    To Flash or not to Flash?

    I personally hate doing anything in Flash unless it's "worthy." And what I mean by that is what most of you are saying, more than just simple animated buttons.

    The Streamworks site is an excellent use of Flash, used it just to impact the logo, once done, it goes with our valued friend, HTML. Hehe but uh, you kinda already knew that...

    And that is my two cents... anyone validate parking?

  8. #28
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    Re: Is our Flash intro inappropriate?

    Originally posted by Geoff Edwards
    We have a Flash intro. It's been online for about 6 or 8 months. We create streaming media and thought a moving intro fit with our webcaster feel. Do you think it works or is it somthing we should re-consider?

    See it at http://www.streamworks.ca
    I feel that it is quite appropriate for your purpose. I am not so shure wether you should consider it an intro, it is more like an interstitial.

    maybe you should consider taking away the skip option, and replace it with some script that: 1. checks bandwidth and displays a gif or respectively the swf 2. checks if the user has visited before and then evades the intro.

    this seems bad ui-habit in the first place, but to many users the skip button has become a synonym for the usual suspected content-free site.

    i liked the quickness and flow though

    Sincerely
    Lars Schulz
    Art Director
    Germany

  9. #29
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    jesus christ. it's like a [mod edit] convention here... "no man! your site is awesome," "great job," "kudos," "that makes me want to work harder" [mod edit]
    i'd say http://www.streamworks.ca/ is pretty good example of a waste of my time, that's 30 seconds of my life i'll never get back. if someone wants to sit there and download that 77kb file for what? a sparkle, a road, and a logo... granted it's not large, but it's just to show off (just as is posting "is this a waste" is)

    that site (and sites like it) are what i thought this forum was talking about, sure you can skip it (there were what two different links there, it's almost begging to be skipped) but why not just omit the whole damn thing. what it's purpose? if this forum is function over flash.

    ... but these little forums are great, aren't they? because you're guranteed to hear what you want to hear. so take a pat on the back there buddy, you're doing a great ****ing job.

    oh and the keywords at the bottom of your site, nice and ****ing tacky.

    dork
    [Edited by RazoRmedia on 05-29-2002 at 07:44 AM]

  10. #30
    Not PWD ViRGo_RK's Avatar
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    Wow, someone here is a jerk

    I think you need to lose your attitude, or leave. It is called "constructive critisism", not "curse me out, please".

    So now I suggest you shut up or leave. People like you disgrace Flashkit, and I don't take kindly to a newbie coming in cursing out the poeple who have been here for a long time as me, and were used to when people were kind and considerate. Remember, Constructive critisism.

    If you have some good tips, tell them. If not, don't fill our forums with a load of profanity.

  11. #31
    Senior Member RazoRmedia's Avatar
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    airseabattle,

    you don't have to agree with everyone, you can disagree, you can say exactly what you think about flash intro's etc. What we do ask is that you do not swear, you do not flame and you try to give people a bit of respect.

    Your post should have been deleted but I am leaving it as an example. You have your own opinion, fair enough its different from others but why the attitude? problems in your personal life make you angry all the time?

    Please refrain from posting in such a way again.

    thankyou

  12. #32
    Senior Member RazoRmedia's Avatar
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    Originally posted by airseabattle
    ... but these little forums are great, aren't they?
    yes, you've asked a number of help questions so you must find them useful

  13. #33
    they call me the_jump... le_saut's Avatar
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    We create streaming media
    I think the interstitial idea fits well with the streaming media direction for your biz.
    this seems bad ui-habit in the first place, but to many users the skip button has become a synonym for the usual suspected content-free site.
    The "intro" as the barrier to the content is what creates the issue here. That hump that a new user has to get over to reach your content can make or break a site.

    For html content after the intro, providing a bookmark-able link to that page can help.
    For flash content loaded up within the intro this can be more difficult to achieve if not impossible. The saving grace here is the browser cache, which allows swf's already present in the browser to pop up instantly when a loadMovie action is called.

    The intro must be a transparent process, not the "loading, please wait" mentality that pervades the screens of the larger flash sites.
    Why should the user "wait"? - and more importantly why should we be telling them they have to wait? It's like getting Shumacher in an F1 and telling him to wait 2 minutes when the flag goes down just for the sake of it.
    The user is ready and raring to go, and we have to work within that restriction, among others (the absent plugin being the most difficult to mine).

    regs

    James

  14. #34
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    I hate Flash intros. I didn't always hate them, but it seems that everyone jumped on the "intro" bandwagon after a few leading design shops did it once or twice. It simply doesn't work for all sites. Most intros you see are trash anyway (just like the sites they lead - and another thread altogether).

    However, Flash intros can be used in a way that is unobtrusive. For instance, I never do full screen intros. I tend to create a basic site and put a small "intro" on the homepage. (eg. http://salonvoices.com/ - needs editing, but...)

    I think things are better that way. And if for some reason the intro is very large, people don't have to wait or press some silly "skip" button.

    Basically, I think that most intros are turn-offs. I like long, full-screen, innovative trailers at the movies...not on sites. I always skip them or leave completely.

    But then this is all coming from a "power surfer"...I'm quick to leave a site over the smallest glitch anyway. Time I waste is money I lose.

  15. #35
    Gross Pecululatarian Ed Mack's Avatar
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    I'm on 56k, and a intro just annoys me, my eyes go straight for any "skip" button I see now, without thinking.

    Though, saying that, I just added a flash element to my site, a little menu widget.

    http://www.edmack.com

    Not very original or spectacular, but I was dieing to have a go. I have links at the bottom for all the content, which are a decent size without being obtrusive, and I got the filesize to be 13k (basically a font outline so that I can fade it). This is just Flashing for Flash's sake, but I think I took the right steps.

  16. #36
    Not PWD ViRGo_RK's Avatar
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    Sorry,

    Sorry about my anger earlier. I was in a horrible mood, I don't know what got under my skin. But I guess my anger just canceled out any of my purpose any way, sorry.

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