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Why is Flash needed in the forum software?

Question
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Regarding the Answers forum software, I believe I have found a bug. I have been experimenting with running IE8 with Flash (Shockwave Flash Object) disabled. Most all that I surf does not require Flash, or I get a warning/notice about Flash and can still view the content that I want. I am not concerned with videos and such. Even eBay can run without Flash. The experiment was to see if I can avoid Flash cookies.
So, the Answers forum software seems to want Flash enabled. It does runs with Flash disabled. However, with Flash disabled, there is sometimes, roughly 50 percent of the time, a lag in pages loading or refreshing on the forum software. And, there is always the notice in the status bar to “manage add-ons”. If I enable Flash, there is no lag, ever, and the notice in the status bar for managing add-ons goes away. When Flash is disabled, the pages will load/refresh always, even when there is a lag – you just have to wait 5, 10, 15 seconds or more.
Easily reproduced, just go to manage add-ons in IE, and disable Flash. Then, do your work on the forum for a period of time (reading, refreshing, navigating, etc). You should start to see the load/refresh lag or hang briefly. Enabling Flash avoids the problem.
However, I am curious why Flash is required at all, seeing as the Answers forum software provides nothing that would require Flash.
I have looked at the view source for various pages in the forum software, and have not seen any specific reference to Flash. Nonetheless, I can reproduce the situation easily as described above.
Hope you find this useful.
Doc
Answers
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Quick question, can you provide a URL for this topic? You mention answers forums, is this the MSDN forums or the Answers forums...or both? If it is specific to answers you should probably post this to the answers site feedback here: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/usinganswers
Let me know. Thanks for reporting this.
Community Forums Program Manager- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, March 29, 2012 6:08 AM
All replies
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Quick question, can you provide a URL for this topic? You mention answers forums, is this the MSDN forums or the Answers forums...or both? If it is specific to answers you should probably post this to the answers site feedback here: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/usinganswers
Let me know. Thanks for reporting this.
Community Forums Program Manager- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, March 29, 2012 6:08 AM
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