Pet peeve - 'Best Viewed with Internet Explorer'

[danbob]

Shopping the FAOL sponsors list today for a waterproof camera case (found it!) and browsing through some other sponsors pages for fun. I ran into a few where their FAOL page said "Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer."

I went to 3 of these websites -- and they all worked JUST FINE with my Linux computer running the Firefox browser!

"Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer" is perpetuated by Microsoft to users of its website design software and others. In 99% of cases, sites that say this actually work fine with most browsers. It's just like if Cortland or Scientific Anglers put decals on their rods and reels that said "This fly rod is best used only with our brand of fly line." --except no one would believe them!

There are some 'advanced features' on some websites (none found in the FAOL sponsors list or FAOL itself, though) that truly are compatible only with Internet Explorer. This a very silly thing for a webmaster to do, because:
- The 'advanced features' are mostly for displaying useless, high-bandwith fluff like movies and animated ads, and many have had serious security flaws.
- Such 'features' can wreak havoc with handicapped users who rely on screen readers and other technology to use the web, and violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- The internet operates on a set of international standards (W3C) so that all users can experience it; you'll drive away users and customers who don't use Windows computers.
- Many people do not update their browsers regularly. The more 'advanced' the 'feature,' the fewer people that can use it.

Complying with W3C and the ADA is easy! Webmasters can Google 'browser compatibility' and "ADA browser compatibility' for a bunch of free (and for pay) tools that check how your website looks on many browsers, including old versions. If your site passes the ADA test, you are eligible to put a accessibility icon on your pages.

Is your website ADA compliant? :
[url=http://www.sls.lib.il.us/accessibility/resources/web-resources.html:7fdef]http://www.sls.lib.il.us/accessibility/resources/web-resources.html[/url:7fdef]

The Best Viewed with Any Browser Campaign:
[url=http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/:7fdef]http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/[/url:7fdef]

Thanks for the space to rant!
By the way, FAOL also works fine with Linux and Firefox. I had to download one plug-in to use the chat room. Critical ADA issues like ALT tags for images work just fine on FAOL, too. though I didn't run the entire set of ADA tests. I was not able to make my own website *completely* ADA compliant, but I resolved the critical issues easily so that hadicapped users can read our pages and order our products.

DAN

[DianeID]

Valid point... I use Mandriva at work all the time. I use Firefox at home and work. I haven't seen a site that I'm interested in that doesn't play fine with these. Great product.

[Thwack]

I surf the web wth Safari and vote-with-my-wallet. If the page doesn't work with the browser of my choice, I'll shop elsewhere.

[J Castwell]

Dan,,, and that's why I do not put new 'high-techi' stuff on FAOL.
And, yes you need java for the chat room.

[LadyFisher]

The major problem is with the older Netscape browers, which also do not 'read' flash.
We test our pages with both Microsoft and Netscape, and have tested in several others as well to make sure we 'read' correctly.
If a Sponsor Page does not read in Netscape,
(and many don't) we put a line on which does say the site reads best in Microsoft. Sorry about that.

------------------
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL