Why Outcasting IE6 is Worst Practice
Do you remember when standardistas were eagerly bouncing visitors who used IE6 from their websites? As something I didn’t agree with it was nice to see the hardcore reigned in by sensible guidance - our job isn’t to make the web inaccessible to anyone, regardless of browser. But occasionally, as a true blue multi-browser polygamist, I do run across this mentality accessing sites in IE6. I use numerous browsers, and expect sites to work reasonably in each of them (to a point). Ignore me at your financial peril, I am also a website user. I buy stuff online. In many browsers. From different sites. That’s called business.
The site says something like “Go away asshole - you are an idiot. But, if you do what I want I’ll let you buy one of my tshirts”. Hey buddy you just lost 20 dollars. I’m out of there. If it doesn’t work in a brick and mortar shop how do you think sales will respond where I’m a mouseclick away from forgetting your sorry ass forever. A part of our job is marketing. No? I recoil from the idea I’m simply a technician.
So, when you think about this tactic, it will always be a stupid business decision to bounce users based on their browser. Right? We all agree? No?
Take Basecamp from 37signals - in the next month they will stop supporting IE6, which I gather from the message displayed on my account means they will bounce me from using the account if I attempt it in IE6, customer or no customer. Which translates that they will bounce my clients and anyone else from my account for the same sin of the web. Thus, becoming a less valuable piece of software in my business process. That’s a very brave and noble, and ultimately dangerous way of looking at what they sell to consumers. It’s something, after all, that could only be imagined in the software industry.
I concede IE6 is a very old browser and the bugbear of our industry (however conditional comments have relieved a lot of that hair pulling). I also concede that IE6 is not a good browser, and that IE7 is now out. IE8 is at Beta 2, with reasonable reviews coming from people I’d trust as reviewers. You can skip Microsoft altogether and just grab a decent browser like Firefox, Opera or a gamut of others for PC and Mac. So what is my issue with outcasting IE6?
Here is the thing - it’s reverting back to the arrogant bad practice of our standardista past. I thought we were believers in an accessible web? Graceful degradation and progressive enhancement? A web without expectation of Operating System, screen size / resolution, or device dependence? Or did I get that part of industry best practice a little wrong? The web I envision that works best delivers a usable, accessible base case experience.
What needs to be understood is that everyone out there doesn’t necessarily have the confidence to download new software. They’re not webbies or techs or even aware on the whole that IE6 is inadequate. And punching someone in the face never made anyone change their white socks! Just like I have no control over the users’ hardware, I have no control over their software. People I know ask me to fix very minor issues that their retailer charges $100 to perform. Most of the people I know just want to jump onto the web and get email, do some banking, look up the price of something and get off.
It’s us, and our obsession with our own reflection, that makes dropping support for IE6 in a commercial environment such a well supported hot topic at the moment.
The bottom line is that cutting off the water to IE6 doesn’t make a good experience for the user. Therefore you will be doing a disservice to them. If someone shot your dog would you buy a labradoodle just because they are non-alergenic? No, fuck no! This was a bad idea when it surfaced several years ago and is just a masked revival by hardcore standardistas now that market share is receding. I am not a pro-IE6 anything, just a realist. And I wouldn’t suggest intrusive javascript messages to be any better than shooting someone’s dog - it won’t make you sell more products. It’s the users’ experience - you just develop the website.
Advice for designers / developers: Build a base case that works for everyone. Provide progressive enhancements for those who can achieve that functionality. Ensure browsers without that support get a decent base case experience instead. Don’t project your own skills / knowledge / politics onto the average user. While I may be perfectly happy not using IE6 to access Basecamp it will only take 1 person who refuses (a client for example) and it becomes useless to me. Just like your business would become useless if you were selling tshirts and bouncing away significant market share.
Just my 2 cents on a sunny spring Saturday. Convince users by all means - punch them in the face never. Or at least restrict that to your personal websites and don’t do it at the expense of your client’s business. To be honest, if I sold socks online I wouldn’t care what suit you turned up in - call me crazy - as long as I could do the transaction. Think about it a little. Are we making solutions? Or nightclubs?
Update: 8 September, 2008
Notice available when logging into Basecamp. I should point out that this isn’t really a post to bag out Basecamp. It is, however, a post to bag out the idea that we should exclude anyone’s ugly best friend from our cool web party. Provide them a less featured experience - that’s finesse.
September 7th, 2008 at 9:57 am
As for Basecamp, I’d have to ask you how useful that will be when I go to a client’s office and discover they only have IE6 installed?
Rule 1: Never make your own software redundant to the client.
Rule 2: Never presume you can choose the colour of other people’s socks - they may actually be happy in white socks.
Rule 3: If you’re bored at work buy a pogo stick. Or a Wii. Or something.
September 8th, 2008 at 9:00 am
*shameless plug*
Central Desktop will continue to support IE6 because it’s what our customers (and what their customers) want.
http://www.centraldesktop.com
September 8th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Although it’s tempting to give in to revenge and make IE6 users pay for the sins of their browser, that’s not a good idea. It’s hard to disagree with what you say, although users should understand that there may be some advanced functions that their browser won’t be able to handle.
A message explaining that should be somewhere, but completely blocking a browser is just not cool. Sure, I try to make people stop using IE6, and generally don’t overwork myself to make my sites look perfect on IE6, as long as they work; but I wouldn’t purposefully keep IE6 users (or any other browser) away from my site.
September 9th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Isaac, shameless plug is fine. I’ll have to find time to check out Central Desktop.
Roberto, yes it’s partly a case of revenge, I agree totally. But really user’s aren’t that aware (or pissed off) about IE. A good example of what some people access the internet with (as opposed to idealic modern browsers) - my mother in law in her 70’s still has an old mac, practically a museum piece that she uses to send email and write letters for printing. I agree she needs a new computer but she’s from a generation where you don’t throw out what works. But at least a good site should degrade for her (to a point).
I did go and buy her a 2nd hand G5 while she’s away in Alice Springs for the winter. But it shows what some people actually use, admittedly a minority.
I should point out she is old money, too. Conceived in the Versailles palace grounds. Don’t sideline her thinking she’s not worth the sale. That’s another thing, making assumptions about people’s value based on their browser or technology.
It just seems that there’s a hardcore out there thinking that they can ride a wave of moral high ground over IE6. It’s another browser - many many customers.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:35 am
[...] recent article here titled Why Outcasting IE6 is Worst Practice discussies the 37signals noitification that their Basecamp application will cease to support IE6 [...]
October 12th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I have to say that my original interpretation of 37signals notification was that IE6 would be a lockout situation. However it appears they will simply not be enhancing the services for IE6 users in future.
As long as they allow a lesser experience for IE6 I see no problem with that. Hopefully that’s the way they’ll be going.
Oh I’m wrong a bit actually…