What is Microsoft Silverlight and why do I need it?

Causes more harm than benefits! Always caused my computer to freeze when I clicked on certain links, such as the "reply" button or "show content" button. I removed the software, and my computer works much better now. MS Silverlight must be full of bugs, just like any other MS software!!! 

I've removed Silverlight from my computer 3 times now - and turned off automated updates to prevent my computer from automatically redownloading it - and yet once a week, Microsoft OVERRIDES my settings, saying it has to download a critical update - the critical update is always to reinstall Silverlight - WITHOUT MY PERMISSION - without asking me before doing so - and doing it in the background while I am working, causing the computer to suddenly crash, restart and make me sit and wait 4 or 5 hours while it "installs update # 1 of 30". When it finally restarts, it takes more than 10 minutes to reboot EACH  time and it crashed exactly every 20 minutes, requiring another 10 minute wait while it reboots. The only way to fix this 20min crash is to uninstall Silverlight, and than, for the next 7 days my computer runs fine, until the weekly critical update overrides my Windows settings to "Never check for updates" and reinstalls Silverlight again without my permission.

I wish there was a way to get it off my computer once and for all, and stop Microsoft from overriding my settings and installing updates without my approval. :(

Silverlight... is not supported here, said Microsoft  Windows Community Moderator on July 25, 2012. Perhaps that says it all!

What techno babble! This is the best example of "the curse of knowledge" I have seen. The are so wrapped up inside of Silverlight that they can't speak in terms other people can understand. What is a expanded rich media experience anyway?