Here we go, another “browser upgrade initiative” or “Get the world on Firefox” campaign. This one is Explorer Destroyer. I love Firefox as much as the next guy, but come on, are web standards really about saying “sorry, you use Internet Explorer, which is not compatible with my site – get Browser X”.
Sorry, but that’s really weak, and the fact that you get a dollar for each download of the Google/Firefox browser that the notice links to makes it all the more distasteful. It’s very reminiscent of days of old “this site requires Internet Explorer – please download it here…”. Ironic, and not in an Alanis Morissette kind of way.
Okay, standards compliant browsers like Firefox make developing sites a much more pleasant and productive experience, but the web is not about developers, it’s about the wider audience, who couldn’t give two craps about their browser. Let’s keep converting people to better browsers, but telling people to go away if they have IE is not the way. Remember, many people don’t have a choice, they’re in an office environment where they can’t install whatever they like, or they don’t have the expertise or the motivation to muck about with installing browsers. Accessibility and web standards are about making the web work for more people, not less.
This is funny though: Kill Bill’s browser. No 4 reason to switch:
Mozilla doesn’t inflate prices and use the money to vaccinate children in Africa.
