| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| IE is being neglected | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Aug 9 2009, 07:29 PM (901 Views) | |
| Paper | Aug 9 2009, 07:29 PM Post #1 |
Member
  ![]](http://209.85.62.24/static/1/pip_r.png)
|
Hopefully not to start a browser war, but I noticed a lot of coders, here and also on the web are neglecting to make their codes compatible with IE. I know no one likes IE and it can be an absolute head ache to get things to work, but we can't just ignore IE when 40% of the world use it. I'm currently working on a code that if I had stuck with all other browsers but IE, would only have taken 6 months of on and off work. As a result of arguing with IE, it's taken me 2 years of on and off work. |
 |
 
|
| Jakɚ | Aug 9 2009, 08:28 PM Post #2 |
Werepossehm?
|
Meh...writing code for browsers such as IE must be easy, or else they wouldn't be very insecure now would they?  Also, to touch that up, much more than 40% of the population uses it. It is much closer to 75-80%. Also, you are quite correct. Microsoft has never been constantly updating IE. If they did, it wouldn't be so insecure now, yes?  Amazing, isn't it? Why not download the other less insecure browsers such as Safari and/or Firefox. I personally have most popular alternative browsers on my laptop (which I'm on right now ) including FireFox, Safari, and Opera. The only thing that bothers me about Safari is that I haven't found any themes yet.  Jake Edited by Jakɚ, Aug 9 2009, 08:30 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Delirium | Aug 9 2009, 08:49 PM Post #3 |
Who Watches the Watchmen?
|
Well if Microsoft doesn't want to make it work why should other people try. 
|
|
|
|
| Paper | Aug 10 2009, 07:43 AM Post #4 |
|
Member
|
Well now, it has nothing to do with security. Believe it or not, it is both not secure and difficult to write for. W3C browser usage statistics show that the 40% use IE, 47% use Firefox and etc. I'd go far as to say that 75%-80% would not be correct. Delirium, we must try because we alienate 40% of all our users if we don't. And well, I'll make the code that will work if you don't. |
|
|
|
| Viral. | Aug 10 2009, 08:05 AM Post #5 |
Member
|
It's normally too much stress to write codes compatible in JavaScript. For example, IE 7 uses JavaScript 1.6, therefore most of the array functions don't work. So if there's a function you want to use, you then have to rewrite it, just so it works in IE. I definitely try to make my codes compatible in most browsers, including IE 6+ (if you use anything below, you're completely deluded o.0). EDIT: Actually, if people neglect it, IE users will soon switch to better browsers 
Edited by Viral., Aug 10 2009, 08:07 AM.
|
|
|
|
| Jakɚ | Aug 10 2009, 09:58 AM Post #6 |
|
Werepossehm?
|
I'm sorry to say you're mistaken. This is an updated site and it does say 75-80%...I can'timagine why they would lie to us.
|
|
|
|
| OcelotJay | Aug 10 2009, 10:22 AM Post #7 |
<3 mine Miaow
|
I don't think there's any moral imperative, or even much incentive to make codes compatible with IE. It's such a shoddy browser and always has been, and any improvements are minimal and far behind its superiors which is odd considering how powerful Microsoft is. It displays a lack of concern and laziness on their part, and with so many options out there for alternatives why shouldn't coders boycott such a substandard piece of browsing software if they so desire? With so many alternatives out there, IE users aren't in a position to complain when they willingly choose to use such a poor browser, much as I can't complain when websites slow down my browsing speed because my computer is pretty old. It's possibly more plausible but it also doesn't cite it's sources, so even if not a lie it's not a wholly reliable source. This article suggests it's closer to 68%, which does seem more likely than such high percentages (IE remains prevalent but it has a lot more competition than merely 5 or 10%). I can't access the cited source though; it's blocked at work for some reason. (>.<) |
|
|
|
| Delirium | Aug 10 2009, 10:24 AM Post #8 |
|
Who Watches the Watchmen?
|
It was a joke. |
|
|
|
| Jakɚ | Aug 10 2009, 10:47 AM Post #9 |
|
Werepossehm?
|
I can definitely believe 68%, but 40% was just too low.
|
|
|
|
| Paper | Aug 10 2009, 03:11 PM Post #10 |
|
Member
|
See the thing is, a lot of people simply don't understand the benefits of other browsers in comparison to IE. There are a lot of aspects that keep users in the dark: - People don't know that there are different browsers that have very big differences in comparison to each other - The name Internet Explorer isn't so much as a name as a suggestion "this is the program to explore the internet". Names like Firefox and Opera have no such suggestive meaning, so people who aren't computer savy, aka most of the world, just don't understand the idea of different browsers - The world doesn't understand computer security and web standards, and don't appreciate what a change of browser means It's not that people WILLINGLY choose to stick with IE, it's that they aren't computer savy enough to realise that there are alternatives. The European Union's directive that Microsoft should not sell windows with IE preinstalled is a good idea. But the biggest English audience is the US, and well the US isn't exactly known for it's intelligence now. Just kidding! Jake - Festery, an organisation called "Alternative Browser Alliance" isn't going to be exactly unbiased. I would say the sentence claiming 75%-80% was meant as a speculation rather than a statistical fact. This is probably more accurate: http://www.w3counter.com/globalstats.php - Around 55% use IE. However, what we could do as coders is to help people to install another browser. Firefox has now been bundled into self installing executables, which means the user needs only to download and run it. Perhaps there could be a small non-popup notification that appears where the code is meant to be with the options "Show me", "Not now" and "Never". On April Fools day "Never" could result in user account deletion Edited by Paper, Aug 10 2009, 03:12 PM.
|
|
|
|
| cvn-tv-dip | Aug 10 2009, 03:32 PM Post #11 |
Retired Soliloquist
|
Let's put it this way. I still see from time to time sites that only work in IE. Aren't those sites the ones being unfair? |
|
|
|
| Paper | Aug 10 2009, 03:49 PM Post #12 |
|
Member
|
Two wrongs make a left |
|
|
|
| cvn-tv-dip | Aug 10 2009, 03:57 PM Post #13 |
|
Retired Soliloquist
|
That doesn't apply here. Coders are designing the web for up-to-date browsers not as a means of revenge but to keep things up to standard. If a site doesn't work on IE, it's the browser's fault, not the coder's. Why purposely make a browser so different and alienated from the rest? There is no practical reason to make a site only IE-based. That's just greed. Edited by cvn-tv-dip, Aug 10 2009, 04:09 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Jakɚ | Aug 10 2009, 04:08 PM Post #14 |
|
Werepossehm?
|
Paper, I can even agree with 55%. However, 40% is very much pushing it. Also, you are correct...people use IE because they do not know anything else. That's why places such as Alternative Browser Alliance have to be created to teach them. 
|
|
|
|
| Paper | Aug 10 2009, 04:37 PM Post #15 |
|
Member
|
Ah but that's the one thing you have no control over. And I agree, web pages like Alternative Browser Alliance are good 
|
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Technology Chat · Next Topic » |
3:28 PM Nov 22
