No Internet Explorer

Here is an interesting Drupal module from the New Drupal Modules feed. It is called NoIE6.

This is what the module's page says:

It is time we teach/obligate the users to stop using Internet Explorer 6 so the Internet can continue its growth.
No IE6 displays a message to all the users using Internet Explorer 6 where they can read why their browser is not supported on the visited site, and also choose an alternative browser from a list that it will be presented to them.
Some of the features of No IE6 are:
* Customization of the displayed message.
* Full control of the supported browser list: download URLs, display order, include or exclude browser, etc.
* Option to close the message and keep navigating.
* Display message using overlay or not.
* Does not impact performance of other browsers.
* Easy to style to fit your own design.

It seems very interesting and long overdue, since Internet Explorer and Microsoft seem so against open standards and have long entranced users to the point that they actually think Internet Explorer is the internet!

I encounter users like this everyday. Some don't understand that there are alternative browsers out there like Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Opera.

If you haven't already, get your Firefox.

These alternative browsers offer things that Internet Explorer doesn't.

Things like:
• W3C Standards Compliance for better consistency throughout the web
• Opensource benefits
• Extensibility through plugins and modules
• Faster page load speed
• Better compatibility

Back in the early days web designers used to force their users by adding disclaimers to their site like: Page Best Viewed at 800x600 and Page Best Viewed with Internet Explorer. Then web usability standards started emerging and we realized we had to stop forcing our users to do things and make it more intuitive to them. I don't see it very often anymore, which is good.

Up to just a few years ago, some sites didn't even work with any web browser except internet explorer. My bank was one of them and I am sure you can think of a few as well. The Anybrowser.org campaign aims to keep the web open.

Granted, the majority of users still use windows, however thankfully companies have caught on that some users don't internet explorer available to them because their operating system doesn't support it. The Macintosh is slowly gaining traction and you can't get internet explorer for the mac. Linux with it's many derivative also is becoming a house-hold name. Internet Explorer doesn't work with linux or unix either.

Back to the module though. I find the premise of it intriguing and very contemporary. Why not turn the tables on Microsoft?

Perhaps that would be the problem. Now we are alienating users, which is not what opensource is all about. I certainly understand the author's frustration at Internet Explorer. It makes it difficult to create an otherwise beautiful site. Especially with Internet Explorer's 32 CSS file limit.

I would use the module on a personal blog, but I think on a business site you might lose a lot of visitors.

One suggestion I might make to the author would be not to completely oust the Internet Explorer users, but to offer the option allowing the warning to appear but then allowing the user to continue to the site.

This would help educate the user that their are alternatives out there, but not alienate them either.