Yeah, simplicity, along with all the delightful security risks. I don't think it will be long before standard browsers will simply refuse to connect to an insecure site. Why should they?

Even bargain web hosts offer SSL (it's actually TLS these days) for free. Mine simply started defaulting to it quite a few years ago. I never had to configure anything, install anything, or purchase anything.

Very mysterious - I'll have to mull over that one!

The jAlbum uploader is always the better choice, anyway. Because it uses a manifest file to keep track of what it's put on the site, it can do the uploads of updated albums in a fraction of the time. FileZilla has to check each file - "is this new, is this changed?" The jAlbum uploader doesn't have to go through that laborious process.

Just did some checking. Chrome is going to start actively blocking http sites in October 2026. A visitor will still be able to say, "yes, go ahead and connect," but it'll probably take the form of scary warnings, so people will usually shy away.