I am curious who uses the Flash and JavaScript and why or why not.

Flash
Pro: It looks really nice
Con: Not all browsers support it

JavaScript
Pro: It offers you more choices because it is client side.
Cons:
Different browsers do not interpret javascript the same.
Users can turn it off.
Due to the recently publisized sercurity flaws, more users will be turning it off.

Neranz Laverani, Seeker of Knowledge

When I was getting started, the professional webmasters I knew tried to avoid forcing their users to download plug-ins.

Of course, it is entirely different today.  Now forcing a user to download stuff seems to be an accepted norm.  Three common downloads:  Flash, Quicktime, and Adobe Acrobat Reader

Neranz Laverani, Seeker of Knowledge

I see way too much of web sites today where the content has been drowned in animations, "cool" graphics, banner ads, and layouts that defies 30 years of research of user interface design. It is also obvious that to most so-called web designers, the 'one browser to rule them all' is MSIE.

I dislike that kind of arrogance. If there's any substance to the site, it would be possible to enjoy even using the non-graphical browsers like lynx, links, and w3.

With the above in mind, I don't use flash, or javascript. I prefer the 'server-side everything', presenting simple HTML pages to the client. They load faster, too.

I'm in total agreement with mhc - too often content is too well-hidden by shiny things. Ironically, these shiny things are intended to grab the user's attention and make them want to see the content.

Plugins should never be the basis of a webpage, they should enhance it. Hence the name plugin - something you can stick into your chosen markup language, not something to replace it. Otherwise, we'd know these plugins as markup.

That said, I use neither Flash nor JavaScript. I've never been good at any kind of programming except at a very, very basic level - scripting mobs and, a long long time ago, writing games in BASIC.

as an aside, I'd ignore NN6 at your peril, esp. in view of the aol discussions...

Now, this seems interesting, so I gather I will have to add my $0.02 to this thread.

First off, supporting as many browsers as possible with minimum fuss can never be considered a Bad Thing™, therefore I always try to make my sites appear exactly the same, or at least similar in both MSIE 4-6, Netscape 4-6, and Opera.

In order to accomplish this without server side browser scripting, one has to bear certain aspects in mind upon designing the site.

* Always use spacer images

* If you use colspan, make sure you have a 1 pixel high table row with cells that define the exact size of all the cells.  This is a good rule for all sites, but particularly for those that have complex tables.

* Never define height in table elements, since the height attribute is not supported by most browsers, or only have partial support.  Instead, use a one pixel wide spacer row that define all the heights of your cells.

* Styles should be used, but do not use border on form elements, since this is generally a Bad Thing™.  If you have to do this, make sure you have one stylesheet for IE/others, and one for Netscape < 6.

* Frames get clipped by NS4, about 3-10 pixels disappear in the bottom.

* Images must have alt-tags, both for the visually impaired with screen readers, and those that have realized that Lynx can be the best way to peruse the web.  Also, a text only version of your menu could be a good idea for lynx people, placing it at the top of the page works best, but this is overkill.

* If you use Flash/Shockwave, you make the index page with a sniffer (18x18 pixel Flash/Shockwave animation with an URL redirect through flash that directs to the media enriched page, and if not, it simply defaults to the normal HTML version of the site.

* Flash is supported by vanilla IE4, though I think it is only Flash 3, or maybe even Flash 4, so it is a good rule to make the flash application work in Flash 4, or if you have complex code, Flash 5, that way you ensure yourself that your media enriched content can be displayed in as many browser versions as possible without user downloads.

* If you cannot design an interface in HTML alone, then you should not try your hands on more complex systems such as Flash or Shockwave.  Good design has nothing to do with the technology, it has to do with afterthought.  You need to sit down and carefully plan your interface before you actually start working on the code and the layout.  Issues like where to place buttons, where to have the content, are the most important.

* If you use Flash, try to use system specific fonts for content text, since these fonts are not antialiased, which makes them easier to read at most screen resolutions.

* The less blinking and moving elements on the screen, the better.  If you have to have blinking and flashing and moving elements, time them, and make them stop after a while.  Moving backgrounds in Flash is ok, if they do not interfere with reading and viewing the menus, generally, a transparency of 5-10% should take care of that, and still make it pretty cool.

* Moving menus, complicated drop downs, and other such highly complex interfaces shouldn't be used in the site unless you have a lot of information.  Generally, it is better to have all top level menus visible directly, and if you have a lot of sub content, you could for instance make them drop downs.

* The less clicks anywhere, the better.

* Using transitions between normal content pages is a Bad Thing ™, especially in Flash.  No matter how pretty the flying fire-breathing dragon is, or slamming metal gates are, nobody wants to sit and wait for 3-5 seconds between each page.  And you can take that to the bank.

* Intros are cool, if they have a real purpose, just being cool is generally not enough from an interface point of view, since it means one more click until you actually reach the content.  If you use an intro animation, make sure that it either has a "skip" button, or preferably, include the full menu in the intro as well for less clicks.

So, in conclusion, the less the better.  Or, as we say, KISS.  Keep It Simple as Stupid.  Then you are sure that your site works and that everybody can see the content.  Perhaps this helped?

Warm Regards,
Torgny Bjers, Implementor