For once, I don't know if I agree with Zeldman or not. Point: Web Standards Project Launches Browser Upgrade Campaign. With the recent "fun" I've had with creating sites that work under Netscape 4.x, I'm more than happy to stop caring if it renders in NS 4 or not. Let's face it, Netscape 4.x wasn't the best browser. That fact more than any led to its decline as the lead browser in the market. I'd be more than happy to focus my designs towards Mozilla/NS 6 and IE 5.x. At least they've started (not necessarily completed) working towards supporting 5 year old standards such as CSS1.

But I don't agree with forcing users to upgrade to a certain version of software just so they can view my sites in all their perfection. Tell them that if they wish to view the site properly they *should* upgrade to a newer browser... but don't hold the content they've come to your site to visit ransom until they do -- they'll just go elsewhere.

Furthermore, not everyone CAN upgrade. Students at many universities are still using Netscape 3.0, because the cost of upgrading 2-300 (for many universities -- more for larger campuses) terminals is prohibitive for many institutions. They don't have a choice as to what browser they use -- it is dictated by the University's IT department (which is more often than not already overworked and understaffed).

Many users may not have the horsepower to run Netscape 6. I recently tried to upgrade my father in law's laptop to Netscape 6. It was running a PII-300 with 32MB RAM. Not really the slowest machine, although it could use a little more memory, but Netscape 6 was godawfully slow on it, to the point I uninstalled and downgraded him to Netscape 4.76. So what do you do for people who are still running on Pentium 133s? Pentium 90s? God forbid, a 486? Do you ask them to upgrade their whole computer just to view your site's content? Or do you just put up with the fact that your page will appear "broken" to them?

I think what the WaSP has proposed is a good idea in theory. In practice, I think it will lead to an enraged viewing public who isn't going to put up with sites that ransom their content unless it's viewed with the most recent browsers.
posted by Darren Harkness 10:50 AM

In my darkest days, I can at least take solace in the fact that this has never been written about me:

Estranged from his parents — whom he blames for stealing the approximately $18 million from his hit sitcom, slapped with an assault charge for attacking an abusive autograph seeker, consigned to taking a job as a mall security guard and living in fear of his creditors, Coleman is nevertheless the most successful of the original child cast members of Diff'rent Strokes.

[link via ufies]
posted by Darren Harkness 10:10 AM