The browsers and their differences

My friend Ben linked to an interesting article on the differences in the browsers that consumers can choose from to surf the web. There was one particular bit that annoyed me though:

Regardless of why it’s favored, developers need to understand that when they fail to include Safari in their compatibility testing, they are basically thumbing their nose at Mac users. In my world, that’s not just a nasty thing to do, it’s also illegal. After all, it’s essentially the same as putting a sign on your shop window that says “No Jews served,” or “No Illegal Immigrants served,” etc. The web belongs to everyone, and if you’re going to set up shop there, you should have to do it in a way that doesn’t discriminate against a particular group.

It’s entirely different. Obviously, when you design a web page, you want it to be compatible with the largest number of browsers possible, but there are unbelieveable levels of complexity involved in making sure every browser is fully supported.

Saying that not understanding or not having the resources to understand how to make a site work in all browsers work simultaneously is like discriminating against Jews is completely unwarranted.

I’m sorry to say it but just using a Mac that comes with Safari pre-intalled doesn’t equate you an ethnic group.

He’s right that of the available browsers, IE6 is the hardest one to write for - the thing is so old and clunky that hardly anything gets read correctly. But, for better or worse, it’s still used by about 90% of the people surfing the ‘net, and when push comes to shove, if it’s a matter of one or the other - I can’t imagine that denying support to 90% of the internet just because they use a computer that comes with IE pre-installed is easier to justify.

In the end, I don’t disagree that efforts should be made to support all browsers. It’s just that the analogy is far closer to “no shoes, no service” than it is to discrimination.