Why were shared network folders removed in 10.9?

[cycling-outcome-3350]

Hi,
Quick question about shared network folders feature. Why was it removed? I added a new library to my Jellyfin instance today and was surprised to find the option missing. I found only two mentions of this feature being removed on the internet, this GH issue and Jellyfin docs page about Kodi, but no explaination why it was removed in the first place. It was a very useful feature and I can't understand why the dev team would even consider getting rid of it. 

Also, does anyone know any workarounds?

[theguymadmax]

See this discussion thread.

[jennystreaming]

This messed a bit with my setup, since I don't transcode. I really just loved how simple it was previously to just mount and direct-stream! I hope this will be back in one form or another, perhaps as a plugin? But then, I am not the most advanced user

[TheDreadPirate]

Kodi with the jellyfin add-on will still direct play content. Instead of accessing the file directly, it will access the file through Jellyfin. Not having network folders does not prevent direct play.