Forum:Death to IE6!

Norwegian Websites Declare War on IE 6

An employee of finn.no (the norwegian equivalent of eBay) recently suggested that some large norwegian websites should work together in trying to eradicate IE6. A lot of them joined, including some of the largest online news sites. Now they're trying to recruit people from international sites to help. So now i'm bringing the news to wikia. I tried testing this on a page on webcomics, but it didn't work. Is that because of wikia's HTML limitations? If so, can it be changed? 15:18, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Code to display IE6 message
This is a simple message that should display only for people using IE6. However, as mentioned above, this doesn't seem to work on wikia.

More info

 * IE6 - Do NOT want!, an informational wiki.
 * google tanslation of the original finn.no article
 * source of the English version of the notice

Discussion
So what do you think? 15:18, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Really, you can't tell people which browser to use; it's their choice. Also, this message would annoy long-time users and new editors alike. --Michaeldsuarez (Talk) (Deeds) 15:45, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, it wouldn't have to be permanent (the original sites are/were just going to keep it for a week or so). One of the sites using it also had the option to close the message (I can see if I find it again). There are so many advantages with upgrading (both for the users who get a faster, more secure browser, and for web designers who won't have to spend time trying to get their pages to work in IE6) that it might be worth annoying some people. 16:03, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Should the message also mention Google Chrome? --Michaeldsuarez (Talk) (Deeds) 16:14, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I can't see why it shouldn't. I just copied it from another site. 16:19, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Others use a yellow bar at the top of the page. Less intrusive, maybe --Ciencia Al Poder (talk) -WikiDex 16:58, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * There isn't any wiki code i know to permit display of a message only to certains user agents. Might be possible through JS. The message could be inserted in the site notice... — TulipVorlax 20:10, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
 * But i dont think this is a good idea; advertisers on Wikia might not like this. — TulipVorlax 20:11, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Why wouldn't ad agencies be happy? 20:36, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Maybe not Advertisers, but because of Terms of use. It could be interpreted as an "advertising", and isn't allowed to put ads other than those provided by wikia. --Ciencia Al Poder (talk) -WikiDex 20:40, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Ah, now I see what you mean. Well, if wikia doesn't like it they should say so. But really, is encouraging people to upgrade their outdated software really advertising? I don't know about "recommending" other browsers, but at least IE7 should go clear of this. 21:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Regarding TulipVorlax's post above, whatever you put inside (HTML thing) only shows up in IE6. However, wikia/mediawiki has limited which HTML you can and can't use (except in the source, which only they can edit).  21:39, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I already know this (i use that on all my websites when needed) but like i said, you can't modify the files of the mediawiki sofware used on Wikia so regulars users and local sysops can't do this. — TulipVorlax 03:53, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Lol, this is pretty funny. If a user has IE6 then they have to read that.  More serious rating anti-browser stuff.  Why didn't they list IE7? Very funny. Thanks, TimeMaster Talk Main Contribs 01:33, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I think telling people to switch browsers is essentially flamebaiting. People have preferences, and some people would prefer IE6 over other browsers for some reason. And a percentage of that group will not be happy that you are telling them to switch. -- S C  M  09:47, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Trust me, nobody uses IE6 because they have tried other browsers and preferred it. They simply don't know any better. 14:39, 22 February 2009 (UTC)
 * For me it was more of a funny choice i did not want to try any other browser not even IE7, but i wanted to sort my bookmarks by groups inside the folder and after a couple of months a friend told me that FF could do it so thats what make me change forgetting IE6 but many dont know, they dont have their automatic update on, hell i know people that still uses windows95!!. The wording its using that msg its partially advertising, just saying something simple The/Your current web explorer it is not compatible with certain features of this web page please upgrade but still will take time, the best options its to truly turn it obsolete and thats by restraining access by truly not supporting it --Cizagna (Talk) Central Dofus 03:23, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
 * They simply don't know any better.
 * Like many people in the world that still continues to polute the earth with their car instead of using others less polluting transportations mean. But it's their right to do so. — TulipVorlax 05:34, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Not really. That's why there are emissions controls on how much pollution cars are allowed to produce. Still, I don't think people using IE6 is / should be a major problem for Wikia. Exactly what features does Wikia have that can't be used properly in IE6 at the moment? I'm all for people using better software, but blocking access outright or having annoying popups and banners is the wrong way to go about it. That's very Microsoft-like. If and when Wikia starts incorporating features that aren't usable in IE 6, then a generic "Classic" version should be made available, like is done with GMail. Making it more difficult to access information is contrary to what Wikia should be trying to do. Heck, you can even edit Wikia in a text-mode browser, and at least view it in an ancient browser like Arachne. And those support far fewer web standards than IE6. inclusivedisjunction 02:43, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Well, you have nothing to worry about
I believe IE8 should be released some time soon. And that the upgrade will be mandatory. --LordTBT Talk! 17:50, 22 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Where's your source of that? 10:58, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * It doesn't suprise me at all.
 * I can't count on two hand the number of times we were force to upgrade Messenger.
 * But in that case, how can they force it ?
 * I deactivate automatic updates because i want to filter things that M$ is often trying to force on us.
 * (And some other reasons.)
 * I dont think that IE7 could suddently stop working.
 * — TulipVorlax 12:18, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Source: --LordTBT  Talk! 23:05, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Bleh, IE in general is horrible. I think I'll be keeping my Firefox 3 even if IE8 is a compulsory upgrade, thanks.
 * Besides, if the IE8 beta was anything to go by, it's worse than IE7. -- S C  M  21:15, 27 February 2009 (UTC)