# List of web browser plugins Deprecated, Discontinued & Extinct with the rise of HTML5 & HTTPS.



## WadmodderJune16 (Apr 30, 2020)

Since the rise of HTML5 & HTTPS technology in recent years, I decided to publish a list of plugins that are confirmed dead, deprecated, discontinued & extinct from the internet. (not just "Furry Fandom" sites)

Adobe - The originator of interactive web content

Adobe Shockwave: Was released in 1995, was the first to utilize 3D graphics on the Internet. Was officially discontinued by Adobe in April 2019

Adobe Flash: released in January 1996 when the WorldWideWeb was still in it's infancy, decline started in 2010 when Apple wouldn't add support for Flash on iOS. In 2017 the End-Of-Life was announced by Adobe to discontinue development of Flash in December 2020.

Adobe Atmosphere: An obscure 3D graphics plugin released in 2001 with both a builder & plugin/player. Mainly used in online chat rooms. Discontinued in 2004 due to few websites & people using it.

Apple - The big innovator of the "Desktop Interface", and iOS devices

QuickTime web plugin: Was introduced in the mid to late 1990s, was used to play QuickTime videos on the Web. Windows version discontinued in April 2016 (3 month after the final version was released in January 2016) due to security vulnerabilities in 7.7.9. macOS version was discontinued by the release of Safari 12 & macOS Mojave in September 2018, And finally no longer made supported by Apple with the release of macOS Catalina (the first macOS release without compatibility for 32-bit applications) in October 2019.

Microsoft - The largest company with the highest userbase

Microsoft Agent: Was released in 1997 to be used to interact and communicate to Windows users with animated characters & text to speech. Last version was released in 2003. Yes, that indeed is the same technology that was used by Bonzi Software's infamous spyware/adware program BonziBuddy, as well as the Office Assistant feature in Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, & Office 2003. Discontinued by Microsoft in April 2009 (3 months before Windows 7 was released to manufacturing & 6 month before Windows 7 was released to general availability in July & October respectively in 2009.)

Microsoft Java Virtual Machine:  Was Microsoft's competition of the Java Virtual Machine craze released in 1996-1997. Discontinued in 2001 because of a lawsuit by Sun Microsystems & withdrawn from the MSDN in 2003, continued to be supported until December 2007 (Not related to Sun/Oracle Java)

Microsoft Silverlight: Was introduced in September 2007 for Internet Explorer & other browsers. Depracated in 2012 when HTML5 was still in it's infancy. Being discontinued in October 2021. With the ending of Silverlight security updates next year, it's the end of the HTML4 era of video streaming as far as we know.

Microsoft Windows Media Player web plugin: Released with later versions of Windows Media Player from the Late-1990s & Late-2000s. Development stopped around 2009 (presumably?), still included with later released of Windows. (despite WMP itself not seeing any updates since the release of Windows 7 in 2009) Fate of online music & video stores using the WMP web plugin is unknown.

Sun/Oracle - The innovator of Java Virtual Machine applets

Java web plugin: Introduced since March 1995 (the initial release of Java) mainly to run Java applications in web browsers. Decline started when many web browsers were removing NPAPI support. Deprecated in 2017 & discontinued in 2018 with the release of Java SE 11 (18.9)

Other companies - Some companies you heard of, others you may haven't heard of

Unity Web Player: Introduced with later releases of Unity in the Late-2000s. Deprecated in favor of WebGL in later versions of Unity.

3Dvia Player: Introduced in the Late 2000s (presumably?). Deprecation & Discontinuation date unknown.

3D Groove: Rarely considered a plugin, was meant for web browsers to play 3D browser games on the internet. Discontinued when the company (The Groove Alliance) closed it's doors in 2009.

Wildtangent Web Driver: Was meant to play both 2D & 3D browser games on the internet. Discontinued around the early to mid to late 2000s

Pulse 3D: An ultra obscure web plugin released in 1999. Info on this plugin is pretty scarce as few companies ever licensed the technology. Discontinued in 2001 by Pulse Entertainment (for them to focus on mobile and communication projects), causing the plugin to fall into obscurity.

DivX: the video codec (not the video rental DVD format by Circuit City) released in the late-1990s to Early-2000s depending on your source, also had a web plugin at one point. The status of the DivX web plugin is unknown, whether it is deprecated or discontinued.

RealPlayer: media player from RealNetworks had a web plugin released in the mid-1990s. Web browser and internet usage has declined over the years.  The BBC commonly used the RealMedia (RealAudio and RealVideo) format until 2009 for its main sites, and no longer utilizes it since 2011.

I'm excluding Valve's Steam, EA's Origin, Ubisoft's Uplay, Blizzard's Battle.net & Epic Games Store from the list of plugins, since those are launchers/storefront clients for PC games.

Have any of you ever used these plugins for your works? Have you had any fond memories with these plugins? Thoughts and comments are very well appreciated.

If there are any other plugins that I missed, let me know in this discussion.


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## Kellan Meig'h (May 2, 2020)

I've used or had a run-in with just about everything mentioned.

I also think HTML5 sucks big time.

Everything would have been okay if we had stayed with HTML 4.0 Strict.


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## WadmodderJune16 (May 3, 2020)

Well, for that time, the reason HTML 4 stayed alive throughout the 2000s-2010s was mainly back then the RIAA & MPAA (now MPA) regulations on what websites where copyrighted media should and shouldn't be posted on.

The only real reason HTML4 still exists is for the older version of Windows Update for Windows 2000 & Windows XP. (sadly Windows Update support was terminated for Windows 95, 98 & ME a few years ago)

HTML5 is completely designed for both desktop and mobile web browsers. So it is more open than those web plugins mentioned above.

For strict rules on HTML5 development, it has to be an HTML editor that cannot be older than the 2010s.


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## WadmodderJune16 (May 4, 2020)

Another reason is sometimes related to compatibility problems with modern operating systems and computers as well as modern browsers, such is the case with the MotionPixels codec and MovieCD format from Sirius Publishing for the former, and the late 2000s Anti-IE6 campaigns for the latter.

Another reason for that is basically the performance bloat for web browsers with those plugins.

Also, HTTPS & HTML5 is not available on almost every website still active today. Take for example the majority of BitTorrent sites that still display IP address logs and NSFW advertisements. This also applies to adware and PUP (potentially unwanted programs) where there are no HTML5 equivalents of them.

The only adware service that (presumably?) has full HTML5 support is the adware use by Microsoft Store (then called Windows Store) apps in Windows 8, 8.1 & 10. So far this is the only adware service that is, by far, incompatible with the previous adware service providers, and also has never been backported to Windows 7 and earlier.

Also, since Adobe Flash is dying this year, nobody is going to get SDKs of Adobe Flash once support finally ends. And many older W3C recommendations are also now obsolete for web browsers to support, such as P3P that was ever only supported by Internet Explorer.

So technically, when Adobe Flash Player dies, HTML5 will likely be easier and cheaper to develop for, since it is mostly an open-source platform.

At least one Furry animator has dropped his own support for Adobe Flash, that of course is Fetimation (only for the Flash Player plugin). I'm thinking other Furry animators are going to stop supporting Adobe Flash after official support from Adobe ends.


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## rekcerW (May 10, 2020)

Omg BonziBuddy, I forgot about that thing. ARGH.


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## Deleted member 115426 (May 10, 2020)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> Another reason is sometimes related to compatibility problems with modern operating systems and computers as well as modern browsers, such is the case with the MotionPixels codec and MovieCD format from Sirius Publishing for the former, and the late 2000s Anti-IE6 campaigns for the latter.
> 
> Another reason for that is basically the performance bloat for web browsers with those plugins.
> 
> ...


This actually inspired my latest program. I've actually made a model viewer using Unity where you can rotate your model and change the lighting as well as zoom in on the character. Because it's its own executable no one has to worry a bit about it getting out of date and being lost to time. I actually have a pic of it in my gallery.


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## WadmodderJune16 (May 10, 2020)

I know many people commonly uses older operating systems to make custom built PCs for retro gaming nowadays. But also, many people have often switched to other web browsers in the 2000s.

I know a few people (and possibily furries) had heard of Nathan Lineback who runs the ToastyTech website. He was never a fan of Internet Explorer 4 and Windows 98 for the Active Desktop, Active Channels, and Windows Desktop Update features.

Here's a link on his infamous hatred for IE4: toastytech.com: Internet Explorer is EVIL!

I can understand that Internet Explorer 6 was notorious for it's security vulnerabilities and software bugs in the mid-2000s and that companies later started anti-IE6 campaigns in the late-2000s to rid people from using it in recent years.

Also, back in the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s, we used to have this huge Rogue Antivirus Security Software scene, where those programs would scan for fake infections on your computer with slowdowns and advertising users to purchase the full version of those programs. I'm pretty sure you guys got your PCs infected by one of these programs back in the day, as many people weren't particularly pleased with Norton and McAfee security software being preinstalled, and of course the Product Activation tactic. Nowadays the Rogue Antivirus trend has since declined in the late-2010s when the Ransomware trend was growing more quickly.

That is pretty much why many browser plugins have been plagued with security exploits in recent years. As evidenced by Steve Jobs about not allowing Flash on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, for poor battery life and optimization, as well as abysmal security problems.

That's a few reasons why many people and companies have migrated or transitioned to modern technology.


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## WadmodderJune16 (May 22, 2020)

I have a few possibilities on why the Furry fandom has just almost snubbed support for HTML5 & HTTPS:

- It costs too much for development and maintaining servers for websites.
- It's difficult to develop for, compared to HTML4 and HTTP. With features that we're deprecated or removed from the W3C recommendations.
- Not alot of professional coders to support it, unlike Adobe Flash.
- Inability to upgrade their website security. Mainly, lots of government properties can't legally upgrade to HTML5 & HTTPS, because it costs too much.
- Limited server support. Many Furry fandom websites aren't able to stabilize their hardware configurations. The failed attempts for the Administrators to bring back the Furry Teens forums kinda proves the point on monetary. (Though fortunately, their Twitter and Discord services are still active)

Also, I have to point out that due to the fact that HTML5 & HTTPS support is growing, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla are against updating and/or upgrading their HTML4 & HTTP implementations for users of older operating systems and web browsers, because their browsers already has HTML5 & HTTPS enabled by default, and mostly comes bundled (rendering only) with macOS/iOS/iPadOS (Safari), Windows (Internet Explorer 11 & Microsoft Edge), some Linux distributions (Firefox or Chrome), and Android (Chrome)

Those are probably my possible reasons why the Furry fandom has ignored development on HTML5 & HTTPS.

There are lots of books on coding for HTML5 and possibily even HTTPS available on Amazon, Ebay, or in any local library or thrift store around you.

Many books on coding for HTML4 and earlier, as well as coding for HTTP are now out of print, so those books are not considered definitive to the W3C anymore.


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## Deleted member 115426 (May 22, 2020)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> I have a few possibilities on why the Furry fandom has just almost snubbed support for HTML5 & HTTPS:
> 
> - It costs too much for development and maintaining servers for websites.
> - It's difficult to develop for, compared to HTML4 and HTTP. With features that we're deprecated or removed from the W3C recommendations.
> ...


I think something you missed as well is security concerns. Imagine a website where anyone could insert their own html code before any reciew can be done. Because with the amount of art uploaded daily, manual review isn't an option.


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## WadmodderJune16 (May 28, 2020)

As we know, books that are about coding on HTML4 and earlier as well as HTTP are all out of print. And so far (aside from unofficially scanned releases of these books on Internet Archive), I haven't seen any physical photocopied bootleg copies of these books so far.

If such bootlegs we're made, the colors of the book's cover and the ink on the fonts from the number of pages would all be washed out or become darker. And so far, nobody has released a video on YouTube on how to spot fake or bootleg books, only fake & bootleg movies, toys, software, and audio CDs.

So as such, there won't be any future maintenance of HTML4 & HTTP in the years after Adobe Flash ends support.

Also, this is only just speculation & not reality, it's very likely that the rights of both HTML4 & HTML5 are internationally copyrighted by the W3C, thus preventing any reprinting (Both authorized & unauthorized) of those books on coding for HTML4 and earlier as well as HTTP.


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## WadmodderJune16 (Jun 26, 2020)

It appears that Adobe is planning to add a timebomb feature to Flash Player this year to prevent people from installing it after the EOL date of December 31, 2020. We're not sure what it will look like, but it would like prevent people from accessing Flash content on their web browser of choice, encouraging them to uninstall Flash Player.

Adobe also plans to remove the Flash Player installers from their website as well.

Also, Apple's Safari 14 will remove Flash support when it will be released in Fall 2020, making this the end of Flash Player in Apple's web browser.


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

How can we get it back then?


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

Can someone release a unofficial flash player then?


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## TyraWadman (Jun 26, 2020)

Eli_the_Wolf23 said:


> Can someone release a unofficial flash player then?


FA needs to figure out a way to accommodate these changes is all. The hardest part for them is probably meeting that deadline.
(I think Neopets announced they were updating everything to Java(?). It's possible they might need to do the same.)

Unless you're worried about the animation software, that is completely fine. Animation with Flash won't be changed. Just... hosting/uploading them anywhere will be.


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

Is FA still on flash?


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## TyraWadman (Jun 26, 2020)

Eli_the_Wolf23 said:


> Is FA still on flash?


They still support the use of flash, but your browser might be automatically blocking it now and again (I have to keep telling mine to stop). 

I DIDNT EVEN RECOGNIZE YOU YOU HAVE A NEW ICON DONT SCARE ME LIKE THAT!


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

TyraWadman said:


> They still support the use of flash, but your browser might be automatically blocking it now and again (I have to keep telling mine to stop).
> 
> I DIDNT EVEN RECOGNIZE YOU YOU HAVE A NEW ICON DONT SCARE ME LIKE THAT!


Sorry for that.

My browser doesnt block the website.


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

Newgrounds is also flash


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## TyraWadman (Jun 26, 2020)

Eli_the_Wolf23 said:


> Newgrounds is also flash


Newgrounds seems to have released an update for this: https://www.newgrounds.com/flash/player


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## Eli_the_Wolf23 (Jun 26, 2020)

I have a Newgrounds account too but I rarely use it.


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## WadmodderJune16 (Jun 27, 2020)

TyraWadman said:


> FA needs to figure out a way to accommodate these changes is all. The hardest part for them is probably meeting that deadline.
> (I think Neopets announced they were updating everything to Java(?). It's possible they might need to do the same.)
> 
> Unless you're worried about the animation software, that is completely fine. Animation with Flash won't be changed. Just... hosting/uploading them anywhere will be.


In the case of Neopets, Do you mean Oracle Java or Javascript?


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## TyraWadman (Jun 27, 2020)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> In the case of Neopets, Do you mean Oracle Java or Javascript?



Well I'm not 100% sure anymore. Can't find the original article I read, but they've already converted _some_ of the site to non-flash already.


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## rekcerW (Jun 27, 2020)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> I have a few possibilities on why the Furry fandom has just almost snubbed support for HTML5 & HTTPS:
> 
> - It costs too much for development and maintaining servers for websites.
> - It's difficult to develop for, compared to HTML4 and HTTP. With features that we're deprecated or removed from the W3C recommendations.
> ...


Umm HTTPS is a protocol using SSL to encrypt data between clients and servers on top of HTTP, and practically everybody uses it. You don't code under HTTP, it's the protocol your browser and whatever server it's talking to use to transmit and receive data.

I guarantee your browser will make it well known to you if you're not using HTTPS under a valid cert. It's a standard now.

Additionally, HTML is not coding lol


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## WadmodderJune16 (Jul 1, 2020)

Adobe Flash, Java as well as other web browsers plugins were also the subject to the Important Security Message (or fake Microsoft & Apple) tech support scams rarely common today.

Adobe Flash has been targeted by hackers and malware coders almost every year at the time, with those fake updater malware still common today, but with it's end-of-life being near, hopefully those fake updater malware will go away soon.

I also think that Adobe Flash developer books will be or are currently out of print, rendering them only found on Amazon, Ebay, and/or libraries and thrift stores.


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## WadmodderJune16 (Mar 9, 2021)

Also, supporting modified or unofficial HTML4 & HTTP client & server software is FROWNED UPON, not only to both the W3C & WHATWG, but also to book publishers that published books related to the older HTML versions in the Mid-1990s to Late-2000s.


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## Kellan Meig'h (Mar 11, 2021)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> Also, supporting modified or unofficial HTML4 & HTTP client & server software is FROWNED UPON, not only to both the W3C & WHATWG, but also to book publishers that published books related to the older HTML versions in the Mid-1990s to Late-2000s.


Um, you think you might want to retract those statements? W3C and WHATWG aren't the Internet Police. They may recommend you follow their conventions when writing code but they're not going to give you a ticket and shut down your website because you didn't strictly follow their code. Modified HTTP code only means my browser won't work correctly with your website (your loss not mine) and improperly coded HTML4 just means I can't see your site as you would want it to display. Again, not my loss. Only someone with no clue would code improper HTML or HTTP code.

And, I have all the mentioned manuals in my library.

<edit>
Forgot to add, Adobe issued an update for Flash Player that actually uninstalls it from your system. How's that for a timebomb?
</edit>
(my unofficial HTML5 contribution)


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## WadmodderJune16 (Mar 12, 2021)

The main reasons that I've said that it is frowned upon to support HTML4 & HTTP after W3C & WHATWG ended their own respective support for is as follows:

- Companies based in Mainland China probably don't want to spend the time, money or resources necessary to transition from the aging HTML4 & HTTP technologies to HTML5 & HTTPS, likely due to components the Mainland Chinese Internet Censorship firmware (Software & Hardware) being incompatible with both HTML5 & HTTPS (including later versions of web browsers that utilize both technologies), and the Mainland has more Adobe Flash market share than any other country, even after the vanilla version of Flash Player reached End-of-Life
- HTML4 & HTTP doesn't seem to be a high priority to both the W3C & WHATWG at this point, at least not officially anymore, though that doesn't mean that we should take over development of either aging technology, since it's both the W3C & WHATWG's own work (not our own work), and many companies already made the transition from the aging HTML4 & HTTP technologies to HTML5 & HTTPS, even after Adobe Flash reached end-of-life outside of Mainland China, and these companies already blacklisted support for earlier versions of many popular browsers such as Mozilla Firefox & Internet Explorer
- Outdated web browsers are not the best way of exploring the modern web, due to HTML5 coding blacklisting earlier versions of many popular web browsers, as well as the blacklisting of discontinued web browsers
- Lastly, this may be an unpopular or less controversial reason, but since then the old SGML parser in HTML4 & the standalone HTML5 Parser are now a thing when it comes to older web browsers & websites still active that utilize newer HTML technologies since the early-2010s. So technically you would think that this kind of mirrors the NTSC & PAL/SECAM differences & regional lockout tactics used by home video formats including BetaMax, VHS, CED, LaserDisc, Video CD, DVD, HD DVD & the original version of the Blu-Ray Disc format at the time, and you would be technically correct. Anything that was made during HTML4 with the older SGML parser will work on any modern web browser, but anything that's made using HTML5 with it's own standalone parser introduced in the early-2010s are going to be pure-exclusive to HTML5 & won't even work nice with HTML4 web browsers with the older SMGL parser. For example, all the versions of Netscape made between 1994 to 2008, the Windows versions of Apple's Safari browser made between 2007 to 2012, many earlier Internet Explorer-based web browsers released between the late-1990s to mid-2000s are not going to be compatible with HTML5-exclusive content due to differences between the older SGML parser & the HTML5 standalone parser, unless you count Browservice as an emulator for operating systems older than Windows XP that requires you to hook your Linux machine to a Windows 3.1, 95, 98, 98SE, ME & 2000 machine. So technically speaking HTML5 & HTTPS is technically DRM but only for blacklisting older versions of many web browsers such as Internet Explorer or all the versions of the Netscape browser.

There may be other reasons I've said this, but these are the main reasons I've said this for now.


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## WadmodderJune16 (Mar 31, 2021)

Also, a lot of Flash games planning to be released between 2017 to 2020 ended up being moved to a different engine. In the case for 3D games, 3D Flash games utilizing Stage3D would've moved development to Unreal Engine, Unity, CryEngine, GoDot, Unigine or Gamebryo instead. In the case for 2D games, many 2D Flash games that would've utilized it would've moved to Unity, Gamemaker Studio, Clickteam Fusion, Adventure Game Studio (AGS), Ren'Py or RPG Maker instead.

Even the Henry Stickmin game Completing the Mission was exclusive to the Henry Stickmin Collection on Steam, as that never had a free Flash version available.


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## Kellan Meig'h (Mar 31, 2021)

WadmodderJune16 said:


> The main reasons that I've said *that it is frowned upon to support HTML4 & HTTP after W3C & WHATWG ended their own respective support* for is as follows:
> <snip for brevity>


W3C and WHATWG do not support or control coding. They only put forth what they *think *(key word) is the best coding practices. That is all.

And you don't particularly need SSL (Secure Socket Layer, old technology) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) for your website, if it's not used for commerce or contains secure or sensitive data. why pay for a Server-Side Digital Certificate for a website that offers up your collection of home-made jam recipes? Forget to update your cert? Website becomes inaccessible. I don't know how many of my few-dozen clients call saying the website is down only to have me point out their certificate expired and they were warned months before by multiple emails.


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