Sean beat me to it, but just sharing the same opinion.


I think that people need to do extensive statistics gathering of their own user base. Trends show that IE is on the decline. One study I read recently showed that IE accounted for less than 1/3 of the total browser usage worldwide. And that mobile usage will soon surpass desktop usage for web access. Statistics like this are interesting, but are misleading. It could still be the case that 95% of your users access your site on IE6. So, general statisics about overall web trends, while important to be aware of, don't tell the story of your users.



My strategy has been to figure out how my users access my site, then design around those numbers. From a business value perspective, if less than 1% of my users are using IE 6, I might decide to "drop" support for IE. Or, better still, offer limited support. Have a good fallback strategy for users who may have css disabled, javascript disabled, be using a screenreader, or be on IE 6, 7, 8, 9, whatever. Design for your user base not for how you wish things were. :)



Culley 

On 07/12/12, Sean Hannan  wrote:
> I go by my statistics (and you should, too). I can't make users use another
> browser (as much as I'd like them to). The bulk of our users still use IE
> (well, the bulk use a WebKit browser--Chrome/Safari--but lumping those
> together isn't an assumption I'm ready to lean on yet). That IE majority is
> shrinking, though.
> 
> I'm in the middle of launching a new site redesign (old:
> http://www.library.jhu.edu new: http://testsh.mse.jhu.edu/newwebsite), so
> this is very present in my mind at the moment.
> 
> My cutoff is IE8. Everything IE8 and above is fine and will work fine with
> the new site. And honestly, since I'm not doing anything that fancy with the
> new site (it's pretty stripped down on purpose), that IE8 limitation is
> really based on CORS support. IE7 don't got it.
> 
> People will upgrade when they upgrade. Libraries aren't really in the
> position to force users to change their browsing habits.
> 
> -Sean
> 
> 
> 
> On 7/12/12 10:33 AM, "Michael Schofield" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> > Hi Code4Lib,
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Ever since Microsoft announced the new IE auto-update policy, the
> > blogosphere is fussing. This is definitely important (and good) news, but
> > sites-Smashing Magazine has three articles on it in the last few days-are
> > really pushing the "drop IE support," and "its literally slowing the
> > internet down." I'm down, but that attitude-especially for libraries-isn't
> > really the right one to have. It is, IMHO, an old view. A smart design
> > strategy with progressive enhancement can deliver content to . everyone -
> > which should be the priority for non-prof / [local-]government web presences
> > over flare. Right?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Anyway, all of this is coming from some really good web developers who don't
> > really face the same issues that have to be considered for library sites. I
> > was just curious what the library community actually thought about this.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Michael
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Here's some reading:
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > "Old Browsers ar eHOlding Back the Web" (July 9th):
> > http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/09/old-browsers-are-holding-back-the
> > -web/
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > "Dear Web User: Please Upgrade Your Browser" (July 10th) :
> > http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/10/dear-web-user-please-upgrade-your
> > -browser/
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > "It's Time to Stop Blaming Internet Explorer" (July 12th):
> > http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/12/its-time-to-stop-blaming-internet
> > -explorer/
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > A recent library blog today: "Have you Given Much thought to browsers"? :
> > http://www.meanlaura.com/archives/1528
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >