I'm sure you're joking, but here's a blast from the past (I'd forgotten about it, anyway): you can set `image.animation_mode` to `none` in Firefox for that.

I wasn't even joking, I'd really love to try purely static (beside the old guard <a> <form> elements) webpages and am delighted there's such an option, this is amazing, thanks.

I'm glad it was helpful! In case you're interested in the other hidden switches that you can toggle if you're willing to void your warranty, there's a reference at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_:_FAQs_:_About:config_Entr... . (I'm not sure how up to date it is, though.)

Never cared to search for the whole documented list of flags, usually I toy with one or two. Thanks again.