Revised Opinion of IE8 Version Targeting
A few weeks ago I wrote my opinion of the version targeting in IE8 proposal and from an idealists point of view I haven’t changed my mind. I don’t think its particularly healthy to have the large corporate monopoly (the tail) telling web standards (the horse) to bend its way. Tails wagging horses are a bit of an arse about concept. I think its dangerous in a way that we’re only going to find out when we’re a few years into this new paradigm. And when you think about it, dumbing down the web so crap sites still work isn’t going to stop our competitors up the road who don’t give a toss about quality from making more and more utter rubbish product.
But then I wake up some mornings and just have to be a realist. Jeffrey Zeldman’s A List Apart article Version Targeting: Threat or Menace? has a few points to take on board. The first being - what are the alternatives? Is it better having Microsoft come to the fold with IE8 or would we rather have some piece of crap that doesn’t support web standards properly again. The second point is that this isn’t a theoretical thing its an economical thing because Microsoft is a business and businesses have to service customers.
So as a realist web developer who does want proper support for the Document Object Model (DOM) in Internet Explorer sooner rather than never I have to accept that its the best of the bad ways forward. With one caveat. I don’t particularly trust Microsoft’s assurances of a smiley unbuggy future or their promise that the world for me will suddenly sprout free Harley Davidson’s and bottles of single malt whiskey sold only in the Scottish countryside to locals. Microsoft will have to earn that trust if they ever want it.
In the end we have to face the fact that version targeting is something that will happen. Other browsers don’t need it but Microsoft aren’t willing to come to our party without covering their economic backsides with a reasonably intelligent solution (if awkwardly similar to having to drink worming syrup for standardistas). And in the end I want to make money as a developer either for myself, my clients or my employers. That’s my economic reality. I guess we’re going to see how it works when it happens… grab your helmet, Linden! Now I can just about visualize Chip Kidd’s Wicked Witch of the West impersonation. Exit stage left Steven… OK.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:35 am
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