Could someone explain the "Flash" situation?

[smhardesty]

I kind of hate to be so dumb about something like this, but I'm just not following what all is going on with Flash for Linux. As I do understand, Adobe/Macromedia is no longer supporting or developing Flash for Linux. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. But I see regular updates coming as I do my software updates. But then I also see different attempts at other third party alternatives. So, what's the story? Should I be using Flash or not. Is there an alternative I should definitely be using?

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[gold_finger]

Use a search engine for "phase out adobe flash" and you'll find plenty of articles showing that flash is gradually being phased out all over, not just in Linux.  HTML5 is being used more and more to deliver content (eg. streaming videos) that was once done by flash plugins and most/all modern browsers support that.  Some examples:

• http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computin...4012393659
  
• http://www.businessinsider.com/adobe-fla...ing-2015-8
  
• http://fortune.com/2016/07/21/mozilla-go...obe-flash/
  

To answer question regarding Linux version of flash player, yes Adobe stopped making new versions of it for Linux a while back, but they continue to release security updates for the last one produced for Linux -- which is why you'll occasionally see it when running LL updates.

[smhardesty]

OK. I was aware of all the security issues with Flash. I started installing Flash Block in Firefox a long time ago, but just recently stopped. As a matter of fact, I haven't installed it on these laptops with the new Lite install. I was also aware of HTML5 and it's increased use in more and more sites. So there would be my first question. Should I have some sort of HTML5 extension added to Firefox? I know there are 4 or 5 good ones at this point, but I wouldn't know which one I should install, if any. And then my second question would be; Should I still have Adobe Flash Plugin installed in Firefox or should I install a third party alternative? I know there are several players, but I also know a lot of them are no longer being developed, like gnash and lightspark. Or, should I just sit still and wait to see what develops?