Browser Wars A New Hope
February 19, 2012
On multiple occasions I see blog and forum posts from front-end web developers that make statements such as, "I don't support IE6" or "I only support the latest versions of browsers".
I often wonder why? Is it because you have enough client work that you can choose to not take on clients whose browser list doesn't support the latest and greatest in HTML5 & CSS3. Or is it something else? Are you too new to the profession that you can't debug older versions of Internet Explorer. Are you just so full of yourself that you think you're too good to work hard for your money?
Let me be clear, I loath Internet Explorer 6 and don't have much love for IE7 either. When I started in the industry the standard of support was IE6; IE7 didn't exist, Firefox was new and we still supported Netscape.
I guess the bottom line is these people are saying they only want to do work if its easy. I find this to be insulting as a professional and insulting to the client. This is the type of approach that gives all web professionals bad names because it makes us sound difficult to work with.
It is time for a paradigm shift. Its ok to not support old browsers but only if the analytics show that its the right move to make. This is something that should get done on a site by site basis not a generalization.
Bottom line is do the work that needs doing and stop bitching and complaining about what browsers you need to support. If you don't like it find a new line of work.