If you are a web developer, you probably hate IE6 as much as I do (or even more, if that much hate is ever possible). And like me, you are waiting for the day when the damn thing disappears off the face of the internet.
When I started this blog, I had planned to make it completely inaccessible to IE6 users, and instead display a message asking them to switch to some other browser. But then I realized that it's too much effort to hack the template for the sake of spreading the message to the 1% of visitors of this blog who still use IE6.
Instead, I chose to leave all the IE6 bugs unfixed (this template looks awful on IE6) and added the banner from the IE6 No More campaign. "IE6 No More" is a campaign by a group of startups that are fed up with the ancient browser and want it to disappear. Do take a look at their website where they make a very good case against IE6.
However, there's hope for us yet. Digg has restricted access to some of its features on IE6, Facebook is asking IE6 users to upgrade and YouTube will drop IE6 support very soon. If more big websites will also take steps in this direction, we won't have to wait till 2014 for IE6's death.
What browser do you use? Do you think all website should follow Facebook's lead and ask users to upgrade?
If you are a developer, how much of you time is wasted fixing all those IE6 bugs? Have you worked on any website recently where you didn't need to make it compatible with IE6?
PS. If you are a Firefox person and have your own website, why don't you help spread the word about Firefox? The more IE6 users we convert, the better! ;-)
7 comments:
A great post. Count me in to spread the message to kill IE of the internet. Its terrible to see internet users still sticking to this crappy web browser. Firefox... Just love it....
@techslam. It really annoys me too when I see someone use IE6 when there are so many better alternatives available. Hopefully, this time around the anti-IE6 campaign will gather momentum and we'll no longer have to code websites for IE6 compatibility.
I am a web developer and i exactly know what you mean here. Ah the at times i have been tormented by this stupid browser that i felt i should chuck my Windows Pc out of my Window..lol..
I hate it ..i absolutely hate it. I despise it..i have this feeling of intense loathing whenever i see that wretched Logo anywhere... I do have a website and i am planning to change the theme that's why i have so far not put this but i definitely will be doing everything within my power to KILL this wretched piece of shit that is blocking the progress of the web.
If Microsoft is still going to support it, W3C better stop supporting them. Ban Microsoft from Web business right away. That ought to teach them a lesson. Monopolizing the web market as they have a major share in the PC market, it is a very stinky thing to do.
It was really a great post and i hope that we all will be able to spread the word about how shit this IE is and hopefully people will realize it and switch over to better alternatives.
Ah, there's someone who hates IE even more than I do. But I have to say, there's not much W3C can do to stop IE6, because the people who use IE don't care about what W3C standards say.
If only more companies stopped coding for IE6, people would automatically move to a better browser when they see how badly IE6 renders standards compatible pages.
Got to agree with you there. Wish everyone just stoped "doing that bit of tweaking" just for IE. Its pathetic and really very much unnecessary. Its the browser's problem it cant render the code properly and if people STILL use it..they must be either stupid and woefully ignorant. I do not know what is happening out there at Microsoft. Something is seriously wrong. First IE, then Windows Vista..they keep coming with these stupid products. Hope they do comeup with something that will HELP people rather than creating more headaches..we have our plates full with that. What do you say?
I don't understand why someone with common sense would use something like IE instead of Mozilla.
@shantharam. I don't see too many web development companies dropping IE6 support at least for another couple of years. The only option is for people with personal websites to stopp supporting IE6. When more and more sites look awful on IE6, people will start looking for alternatives. Only then will the web development companies stop supporting IE.
@aravind. Not everyone is doing this out of choice. People working at many big corporations only have access to IE6 at work. They can't use FF there. That was my situation at my previous job. Thank God, I'm now working at a place where everyone worships FF. ;-)
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