It turns out that not everyone hates Flash. Honestly, we thought the feelings of revulsion were fairly universal. However, one web developer has made it his mission to save Flash for future generations. How? By petitioning Adobe to open source Flash once they kill it off in 2020.

In case you hadn't heard, Adobe is killing Flash. Finally, after years of tech companies begging Adobe to hammer the final nail in the rotting coffin. It won't be happening for a few more years, but Adobe has announced its intention to end-of-life Flash at some point in 2020.

Most people are pleased that Adobe is finally killing Flash. Most people, but not everyone...

Asking Adobe to Open Source Flash

A Finnish web developer by the name of Juha Lindstedt has started a petition asking Adobe to open source Flash. He accepts that Flash is flawed as it exists at the moment. However, he's arguing the case for Adobe to essentially hand Flash over to the internet to see what they can do with it.

His main argument appears to be that "Flash is an important piece of Internet history and killing Flash means future generations can't access the past." The early web was built using Flash, which means that once it's gone, "games, experiments and websites would be forgotten".

Lindstedt even lists some of the ways open sourcing the software would "keep Flash projects alive safely for archive reasons." He argues, "There might be a way to convert swf/fla to HTML5/canvas/webgl/webassembly, or some might write a standalone player for it. Another possibility would be to have a separate browser."

Because Petitions Always Work

The idea of open sourcing Flash is currently being discussed in various places, including Hacker News and Newgrounds. Opinions are very much split down the middle, which was always going to be the case with a debate such as this one. In the end though, it will be Adobe's decision.

If you want to sign the petition to support the idea of open sourcing Flash you simply need to Star the repository on GitHub. Lindstedt promises that he will deliver this petition to Adobe at some point in the future. But it's anyone's guess what Adobe's reaction will be.

Just Let Flash Die Already

We're fans of open source software here at MakeUseOf. However, open sourcing Flash would just be keeping it around, and those gaping security holes with it. Flash IS part of internet history, but that's where it belongs; in the past with all of the other software that's been abandoned over the years. Let Flash die with dignity, and let's all move onto a bigger and better future.

What are your views on Flash? Do you welcome Adobe's decision to kill it off in 2020? Or do you think it would be a good idea to open source Flash to preserve the past for future generations? Will you be signing the petition? The comments are open below...

Image Credit: Antonio Silveira via Flickr