Arguments for Internet Explorer

So what your saying is because I use valid css that IE is to blame for displaying the web site properly and breaking opera and ff?

Even the latest opera beta wouldn’t display correctly.

Go back to your cave.

I’ve come across (Registration Required) this all too often. People validate their code against the w3 validator and then whinge about what an awful job Firefox makes of it. It’s unacceptable, uneducated, and just not right.

You are perfectly free to create a CSS design that is unreadable. Admittedly, nobody would want to visit your web site if you did, but the validator doesn’t stop you from pushing your images off the screen or pulling your text out of alignment. Try adding *{display:none} to your CSS file for a good example.

If you design a site using Internet Explorer, that’s your problem. Internet Explorer will throw out your measurements, just as it will display your CSS incorrectly. Taking those same designs to other browsers means that you’re taking dodgy CSS to start with and expecting it to be dodgy in everything.

For me, the second rule of web design (I’ll share the first later) is to design for the compliant browsers first. Work with Opera and Firefox to make sure your design is okay. After that, you can take it to Internet Explorer and patch it until it works there too. I’ve fallen in love with conditional comments for this.

The best practise is to design “fuzzily.” It’s not always important to have a pixel-perfect render in everything, so a little bit of padding here or there won’t always affect the design. The alternative is to pull lots of hair out and go insane trying to balance between browsers.

Responses

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9 Comments

  1. Posted April 5, 2006 at 1:28 am | Permalink

    If that quote block is meant to have some fancy formatting around it (it should, because its hard to tell you’re quoting someone) it’s not working here in IE6.

    Anyway, that guy sure did make a twat of himself. Those blanket statements sure do get people into a lot of trouble a lot of the time, especially when they happen to make said statements in a place where there are potentially hundreds of people capable of correcting them.


    I’m learing about ASP.NET — yay. It is a novel idea, and something I really have no understanding of, but it’s also Microsoft; proprietary, and unix-unfriendly.

    I can’t imagine what a nightmare it would be to get apache on linux serving asp.net pages.

  2. Ashley
    Posted April 5, 2006 at 3:44 am | Permalink

    I’ve been neglecting my IE stylesheet lately, I’ll have a look at it later. On another note, TinySofa (tinysofa.org) has asp.net by default. Not sure how that works, but you might be interested in looking at it.

  3. Stoddy
    Posted April 5, 2006 at 2:24 pm | Permalink

    I reckon some third party like w3 should make the standard. Then have EVERY web browser comply with that standard. And if they don’t comply with that standard. Issue a warning to the user that the browser doesn’t comply with said standard therefore the page may have errors. Then the user only has themselves to blame and shitty browsers. Yes i’m looking at your IE. You steaming pile of shit.

  4. Posted April 6, 2006 at 12:19 pm | Permalink

    Err..

    W3C do make the standards.

    The problem is that the inconsistencies in interpretation (whether deliberate or accidental) of that standard between the team behind IE and the teams behind Opera, FF etc cause problems for web developers; in that they have to cater to both rendering engines by introducing fudge code to their websites,

  5. Ashley
    Posted April 8, 2006 at 4:33 pm | Permalink

    And the standards aren’t enforced. I think that’s what Scott means. Anyone can release a half baked interpretation of the standards and still call their software a “web browser.” If there were a tougher penalty other than an outcry form the developer community, I’m sure Microsoft would get their act into gear.

  6. Ashley
    Posted April 8, 2006 at 4:35 pm | Permalink

    Quicker, that is. From what I’ve heard they’re doing a legendary job turning that old dinosaur into something that works.

  7. Posted April 8, 2006 at 10:53 pm | Permalink

    I think there’s something wrong with you, Ashley… you keep saying positive things about Microsoft products.. or at least, you have hope for their products in the future.

    I honestly hope your hope is not misplaced, but we all know MS… :-P

  8. Ashley
    Posted April 9, 2006 at 1:01 pm | Permalink

    You’re right. I’ve heard a few good things about Internet Explorer. It’s not going to be perfect, but at least it won’t suck as much.

  9. Posted December 1, 2007 at 6:29 pm | Permalink

    Internet explorer is such a steaming pile of horse-shit. I am so frusterated right now with it that I am about ready to throw my f-ing computer off an f-ing cliff. I hate you microsoft. You made a job that could be fun (web design) into a frusterating head mashing, face humping nightmare. 1000 pixels is 1000 PIXELS not 1235 PIXELS YOU FING MORONS.

    Thanks for letting me use your blog to rant.

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