Internet Explorer 6
This entry was posted on February 12, 2008
Millions swear by it, millions hate it. As for me, I’m somewhere in the middle. I wouldn’t say that IE6 is my favourite browser of choice, but equally I don’t think it’s as bad as some people would like me to believe. I think IE6 is a very “love / hate” type of browser, which is why it’s strange that I’m somewhere in the middle.
I’ve been using IE6 for as long as I can remember (which is quite a while when you think that IE6 has been around for many years) and it has served me well. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but it does what I need it to do and that’s good enough for me.
Many people ask me why I don’t upgrade to version 7. I would love to do that, but it’s not physically possible. I use a laptop and a PC. The laptop is running Windows Vista and hence has IE7 installed as standard. The PC is running Windows XP and hence has IE6 installed as standard. However, I don’t have the essential “administrator privileges” and so I can’t even alter the system tray, let alone install or upgrade a program. That’s the only reason I haven’t upgraded to version 7.
Then there’s the small matter of IE6 not always interpreting CSS as expected. Amateur web designers seem to be in two camps; one camp insist that IE6 is the spawn of Satan and will not do anything properly, and the other camp are so used to the bad habits they’ve picked up testing with IE6 that they don’t understand why standards-based browsers don’t interpret their markup properly.
For more complex designs, it is often not possible to recreate certain effects in IE6 without using massive amounts of extra markup and this can often (but not always) lead to snobbery. Some people drop support for IE6 altogether, some people display messages to their IE6-using visitors telling them to get Firefox (when there are in fact more browsers out there than just IE and FF), and some people do something that really bugs me. What really bugs me is when people brag about how “valid” and “accessible” their site is, and don’t even go to the trouble to make sure it works in IE6.
Sure, a lot of complex designs will never work in IE6, and that’s something that only Microsoft can be held responsible for, but with a bit of time and effort (which I agree is not always practical) but a lot of relatively simple problems can be fixed. IE6 interprets margins and paddings in a different way to the rest of the world (well, the world of web browsers) and this can often lead to what I call “droopy” sidebars. In a two column layout, one column will often drop down below the other. When these columns’ widths are specified in percentages, one column will often drop if the widths add up to exactly 100%. Change the total to 99%, and IE6 will stop dropping the sidebars.
IE6 is like an old acquaintance to me. I’ll be sad to see it go, but equally, the time has come for us to move forward. I don’t think there’ll ever be an answer to the whole “IE6 discussion” that I’ll 100% agree with. I do think everyone needs to move on from IE6, but I don’t think that IE6 is the worst thing ever to happen.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on IE6, be they good or bad. But, because IE6 causes such heated debate, please try and keep profanity to a minimum. IE7 still has young ears, and we can’t insult its older brother too much. Apart from that, let loose!
28 lovely people have commented
Boo IE, BOO! I used IE in 2000 (because I wasn’t allowed to install anything on the computer) and it kept crashing and I got annoyed. When I got my own computer and started using Firefox, IE was a thing of the past!
I don’t give a toss what browser you use as long as you don’t try to push that “Firefox messes up my code” nonsense. 
I’ve noticed the changes between IE 6 and IE 7 to be minimal at best. Being a tech n00b of the highest order I’m afraid can’t offer any insight on the supposed bug fixes/security updates/whatever, but to me it just seems like the same old shit in new wrapper. Take that whatever way you like.
I use Firefox. I like Opera too, but I prefer Firefox because I am an idiot and it is simpler. Opera tries to be streamlined but ends up adding too many extra features and shiny buttons and that’s when idiots like me get confused. 
It’s sort of like cheap grog versus wine - wine looks nicer, but cheap grog will get you just as drunk at half the price. (Internet Explorer would be the equivalent of two parts water and one part Draino.)
Well, your site looks a lot better on IE7 than on Firefox. Maybe because of the font-type?
Anyway, ever since I started using FF I haven’t been able to switch back, nor I intent to. I can always use Opera or Flock. IE sucks big time.
Ops, sorry, I must elaborate…Cause it makes browsing a lot more difficult and old fashioned. I feel like in the stone age when I’m using it. I’m much more fond of FF layout than IE’s one.
Besides FF has tabs, and even IE7 has them, they don’t work the same way. I think it’s a matter of taste really, nothing to give much thought to.
I should be offended by your insinuation that one has to be an “amateur” web design to have an opinion on IE6, be it negative or positive, especially when I know full well there are plenty of popular and professional web designers and/or developers who dislike the browser and publicly berate it for not supporting even basic standards - if that makes it the spawn of Satan then so be it (and if it makes one amateur to think so, again, fine by me.)
There are a HELL of a lot more bugs to IE6 than “droopy sidebars”, and changing the width/margin/padding of a layout to a total of 99% isn’t going to be the miracle answer to the majority’s prayers. Furthermore, no amount of you telling people “a little time and effort” is all that is needed is going to change the fact that most *professional* web designers and developers simply don’t have the time to be wiping IE6 (or IE7) respective arses because it simply isn’t capable of doing its job. In the real world, where we’re not free to mess about with our pages as much as we like, there’s the small matter of “deadlines”, “charging by the hour”, “client expectations” etc.
The fieldset bug, peek-a-boo bug, box model bug, double margins, the fact that it doesn’t constrain to proper heights for overflowing content, lack of proper png support, FOUC bug, table cell alignment bug, the lack of support for CSS2 pseudo-classes and pseudo-elements.. the list goes on; I’m sure there are plenty I don’t know of!
Of course, that’s just on the topic coding. I haven’t even touched on the small matter of unpatched security issues, the legal implications of it being tied in so tightly to the operating system, the fact that you can get past the High Security settings with a copy and paste compact privacy policy… need I go on?
IE6 is a failure, and the sooner it is eradicated from the face of the planet the better. Unfortunately, while I remain a Windows user I have to keep IE - that’s the only reason why it’s not totally eradicated from my system. And if you think IE7 is any better? You’re sorely mistaken…
http://www.gtalbot.org/BrowserBugsSection/MSIE7Bugs/
But, IE is the spawn of the devil, right?
I really don’t like to use IE, because it’s slow,
especially with my connection, but, I do try to make
my blog compatible with it [[thanks to Vera 
]]
I don’t see how it’s “snobbery” acknowledging that IE6, 7, whatever version you’re using is rubbish. It does amuse me that you try so hard to defend it though.
I second Jem’s argument. A website should cater to it’s visitors however that doesn’t necessarily mean it should cede to the demands of a buggy browser that is now obsolete and hence sparsely used.
Can you imagine if people were obstinate about continuing the use of the first version of IE? No videos, images… hell no dynamic content full stop. The web is in a constant state of change - not changing with it is just missing out on what it can offer.
I do understand that some work places also don’t update their browsers, but that is probably done somewhat on purpose 
My website has sidebar ‘droopage’ in IE6 - and it’s valid. Transitional, but hey I’m still learning and it’s valid
Well I haven’t got a clue when it comes to webdesign, but back when I used Windows I used Firefox. And my sisters who are 9 and 13 use Firefox. I taught them early that IE is evil. :p
I hate IE6 with every fiber of my being. But I take the extra hour(s) to make sure it’s compatible, because I know how pissed I get when a website doesn’t work on FF.
I prefer IE7 to IE6, because it interprets CSS a bit better… but all in all I hate the whole IE family.
I hate IE. But I do think IE6 is better than IE7.
I don’t really have an opinion of IE; the only time I hate it is when I’m trying and failing to make my site look okay in it. It seems like the “droopy” sidebar occurs when you italicize text in the content div, which puzzles and bothers me… anyway, I prefer to use FF, but I don’t care what browser other people use. I suppose the security holes are their problem.
If you want to update, though, couldn’t you just switch to another account that *has* administator privileges? Or do you not own the computer/not have a user that has those privileges?
I’d like to know what disliking a browser has to do with snobbery? Especially because most people who complain about it have just spent half of their lives making their websites work for it. Very few people who complain about it actually give up and say ‘Screw the IE users!’.
In fact, I remember Jacky complaining about the new Snark layout not working for IE users, but she made it work anyway. I don’t see how that’s snobbery.
I actually switched from IE to FF about two weeks ago. The snark layout wasn’t working in IE and I remembered I had FF somewhere on my computer I’d used ages ago for testing layouts.
After a while of using it I just realised how slow IE is in comparison. And IE crashes much more often. In fact, FF has never once crashed for me yet.
@Nellie - I think it’s snobbery when it turns into a “holier than thou” attitude. Like when people give off an air of “I’m better than you because my site’s not IE compatible”.
^ Oh really? My attitude is “I’m better than you because my site is cross-browser compatible.” But I have definitely had lots of problems with IE6 myself and I honestly despise of it. I had these pretty fieldset and legend boxes! But IE6 screwed it. Droopy sidebar is the least of my worries because I know how to fix those. :/ But the fieldset thing I can’t fix.
Like when people give off an air of “I’m better than you because my site’s not IE compatible”.
I’ve heard of people bragging about having cross-browser compatible Web sites, but I’ve yet to hear of people bragging about their Web site not being compatible in Internet Explorer. It may be a pile of steaming dog shit, but as a significant number of people use it, it’s still necessary to design for it.
Jordie: I remember having reviewed someone on YourSite.nu, who had a wonderful layout and overall great site, but when I looked for cross browser compatibility in IE it gave me a message to switch to FF.
When I told the webmaster that I would under no circumstances agree with that (hence the 4 stars) she retorted that IE was a bad browser, and she was proud for doing this.
As such, Rachael’s claim holds a lot of merit.
I love IE6, I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. I will use it forever!
I love IE6, I don’t see anything wrong with it at all. I will use it forever!
*groan*
My current layout looks apalling in IE 6 and so I pretty much hate it. I find it really stressful. Oh, Firefox!
IE6 is okay. I mean I don’t think it is the spawn of Satan, but I do not think it is a gift from God. All browsers have their own pluses. FF does not show fancy sidebars, while IE6 has some positioning issues, Safari has it’s own pluses as well. Personally, I use FF, but that it not really because I love it, it is just what my dad installed on my computer. I would use either.
I use IE7 on my laptop and Firefox on my PC. IE6 IS evil. For all the reasons people have mentioned above. No matter how nitpicky I am about code, sometimes it just will NOT work on IE6. I’m working on a new theme, and I’m checking my site in IE7, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. I am not even worrying about what it looks like in IE6 because those people who ARE using IE6 NEED to switch to IE7 or something else anyway. Now, I know you say you can’t install IE7 on your computer, and that’s too bad. I know how you feel about IE6 though, so I’m not going to try and persuade you into thinking differently about it. But, what Kristina said applies to me as well. IE always crashes at some point. Firefox never has for me. Yet.
From a user perspective, IE6 is perfectly fine. It does the job, as it always has, and there really isn’t much to complain about.
From a developer perspective IE6 is the devil, for all manner of reasons, not least among them are the common frustrations about it being an obtuse and buggy bag of irritation.
I know you mentioned not having admin privileges to upgrade, but seriously - go to http://portableapps.com/ and put a copy of Firefox on a thumbdrive. Then install the following extensions and have a play with them:
Web Developer Toolbar
Firebug
Having been a front-end developer professionally for the last three and a half years, I can not imagine developing websites using anything else. There simply aren’t alternatives to developing with those tools, and those addons are not available on any other browser (nor are there any equivalents). Everything becomes so much easier and (more importantly at work) faster using FF and Firebug/WDT. Need to know what CSS rules are being applied to a particular element? Right click and ‘Inspect’ it. They are listed for you, along with line number references for each css rule being applied. Need to test a five page form? Click ‘Forms’ and have it auto-fill every field. Want to see how a page would look if you added a new header? Do it in Firebug, live, right there on the page. That alone is great for quickly prototyping pages to screenshot and send back to the client without having to delve into editors and FTP clients.
If you are building websites and using IE6 to see what’s going on, you are making your life a lot harder than it needs to be. Additionally, it’s a good idea to develop first for a standards aware browser (FF, Safari, Opera, IE7 even (at a push)) and then fix IE6’s bugs. Because trying it the other way around is a lot harder.
After you get comfortable with Firefox’s amazing developer tools, you too will see IE6 as the old spiteful bag of hatred that any seasoned developer see’s it as.
But yeah, from a user perspective it’s fine.
I disagree with Matt. As an ordinary user, my granddad was suffering from endless toolbar/spyware issues that were eradicated when we moved him to Firefox. That’s not “fine” if you ask me!
Hello Rachael,
“I don’t have the essential ‘administrator privileges’ and so I can’t even alter the system tray, let alone install or upgrade a program.”
I recommend you ask the admin to install Firefox 2.0.0.12 and/or Opera 9.26. There are lots of security and web standards/web design reasons supporting such decision:
Here are some links to help your case:
- http://www.end6.org/
- http://www.incoherence.net/v5/2008/02/04/ie6-scourge-of-web-designs
- http://blog.patspam.com/2007/10/18/why-do-we-bother-with-ie/
- http://www.crimethinc.com/about/site_guide.html
- http://live.psu.edu/story/9376
- http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/columns/executive_tech/article.php/3379651
- http://www.alternativebrowseralliance.com/
- http://www.shlomifish.org/no-ie/
To Jem:
“while I remain a Windows user I have to keep IE - that’s the only reason why it’s not totally eradicated from my system.”
You do not have to keep using IE (except for Windows Update) even if you use Windows.
You can install Linux Ubuntu 7.10 (free, secure, open-source, extensible, customizable, etc) as a 2nd os.
“And if you think IE7 is any better? You’re sorely mistaken”
That’s not true. IE 7 has about 150 bugs fixed over IE 6. (I no longer keep my list of IE 6 bugs updated: it’s not worth the time, energy; people should switch from IE 6.)
The most important problem to remember regarding IE is that Internet Explorer has hundreds and hundreds of bugs, incorrect implementations, unsupported methods, attributes, properties, etc.: that’s true for IE 6 and IE 7.
Regards, Gérard Talbot
You do not have to keep using IE (except for Windows Update)
I never said I was *using* IE, I simply said I had to keep it. Browser testing for compatibility, windows updates as you correctly mentioned, certain intranets/websites that the developers are too lazy to update to work with Firefox…
You can install Linux Ubuntu 7.10 (free, secure, open-source, extensible, customizable, etc) as a 2nd os.
Why the hell would I want to?
IE 7 has about 150 bugs fixed over IE 6.
That doesn’t make it a better browser.
Leave a comment?
·
Aisling said:
I don’t use any IE. But, you know, I try to make my site look essentially the same in both. If there’s something tiny gone wrong in IE, I don’t fuss, because… well, looking at stats, I get, like 2 people a month using IE. And they can still read m blog, which is the main point anyway. And it doesn’t look like a complete disaster, it just looks… a little less polished.