Pondering Support of IE6
Date : 2008 07 22 Category : Tech & DevelopmentIf there's a single experience that bonds all Web developers, it is the incomprehensible joy of wasting hours of our lives supporting IE6. The quasi-palindromic Dionysios Synodinos (alright, it's pretty far from reversible, but there's got to be a good anagram in there) over at InfoQ has put together a fun piece discussing wither IE6. From the article:
Since attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003, Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has been rapidly losing market share. As the end of 2008 approaches, significant online services, vendors and web frameworks are dropping support for IE6. Will this year be the end of IE6 and what does this signify for Web 2.0 developers?
Dionysios draws examples and quotes from Apple, SproutCore, 37signals, Douglas Crockford, Dylan Schiemann, John Resig, and more as he searches for an answer. There's no conclusion to the piece, but plenty of perspective. Some excerpts:
Dylan Schiemann of Dojo: I think we're stuck with IE 6 for at least another year.
Douglas Crockford: If you are operating a mainstream site that appeals broadly to all users, then regrettably you must continue to support IE 6 until its share drops to insignificance.
Jeffrey Zeldman: If your company can afford to quit supporting IE6, now is as good a time as any to do so. Whether or not you can do so depends on your audience and business model.
If nothing else, raising the hope of dropping IE6 support before I send my kids to college makes it a welcome article indeed.