I am going through looking for things I can throw away to unclutter my hard drive and streamline my system. Is there a list somewhere of things that are included with the system software that most people do not need?
Or a list of what some of these things actually do? I just found my Text Encoding folder. Do I need all the contents of this folder?

[gene]

There is a shareware program called Informant. I can't remember if it has been updated for Mac OS 9 but it can still be of use. Informant has information about every Apple extension, control panels and folders and who needs them and who doesn't. Check http://www.versiontracker.com for a download link.

[wlonh]

i believe gene means InformInit, but it is somewhat obsolete, not having been updated since 04/17/98

but there is Extension Overload, recently updated, see here: http://www.ExtensionOverload.com/

most likely there are many things enabled in the Extensions Manager that you do not need... if you do not use ethernet/networking /filesharing you can disable all of the related control panels and extensions. you can disable the printer drivers you do not need. have a close look in your Extensions Manager, note that there is a little 'pointer' in the lower left corner that when clicked on will reveal an item info window...
you can select an item in the Extensions Manager window and that item's info will be displayed in the info window...

Get a copy of the most recent "Macs for dummies", it has a list of all extensions, control panels ect... with some explanations, but will give you a basic idea of things you can toss. Some extensions are such that, if you think you may need them at a later time, are better left as disabled, but alot of others are trash material right away. As long as you have your OS CD, you can always re-install them anyway. Just dont throw out things unless you are sure of their purpose/function, since alot of extensions are used with more than one file/app. LOL

[typoon]

What you also could do is to disable the extension before throwing it out. That would be a lot safer. Also the other suggestions work as well.