We really need to address the preservation of Adobe Flash software. I understand that Flash had its flaws, like being buggy, slow, resource-intensive, and a security risk.
However, we can't deny that a massive portion of the internet relied heavily on Adobe Flash, and now so much of it has vanished. I'm talking about interactive rich media sites, videos, animations, and video games – all with countless hours of development – that are no longer accessible.
This realization hit me when I tried to play the popular Flash game SpeedRunner. Unless you install Flash, which has been deprecated for a while now, you can't play the original game. I'm not referring to the remake on Xbox 360 or the ports to Steam, Switch, and iOS. I mean the original SpeedRunner, the one you could play directly in a web browser.
Enthusiasts dedicated to retro computing and gaming put a lot of effort into preserving software from platforms like DOS, Commodore 64, and NES. However, despite Flash being used by almost everyone with internet access, a great deal of its software and media is at risk of being forgotten. It's a bit disheartening because I believe future generations won't truly understand the early internet without the preservation of Flash software.
This doesn't mean Flash was perfect or that it didn't deserve to be deprecated. But it's also unfortunate when a significant part of our culture goes unnoticed or is simply forgotten.
Chris Trottier
Spazzy