

Beat the IE6 wolf! - aslamnd
http://beatie6.frontcube.com/
An alternative IE6 banner for your site inspired by "ie6countdown.com – a wolf in sheep's clothing" (http://statichtml.com/2011/ie6-countdown-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing.html)article.
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ck2
Saying something is "old" is not a good enough reason to make people give it
up.

Instead, tell them it's unsafe and insecure and it's free and super easy to
use a newer browser. Then you've got something. Tell them them IE6 won't be
deleted just in case they need to go back for some reason.

My car is over 10 years old, gets better mpg than many of today's cars and
still has airbags. An argument that "it's old, better upgrade" wouldn't fly
with me (unless somehow it was free and easy to upgrade, lol).

~~~
derefr
People understand the Moore's-law-kind-of-"old" better than you think, if you
give them the right analogy.

"Remember what Playstation 1 games looked like? A few scant polygons and
textures were all the hardware could manage. _Your browser is as old as a
PS1._ † Websites have gotten better, stronger, faster, and more technologic
since 2001, but you can't see any of that—because you're trying to view them
in a browser built on the expectation that the most complicated thing the
Internet had in store for it was shopping carts. Get a new browser, and see
what the last 10 years of progress have let us create."

† At the tail-end of its lifespan—but still.

~~~
ck2
People still using IE6 might not be gamers.

For example I have no idea what a PS1 was like (or PS2 for that matter?)

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JacobAldridge
I don't use IE6, and haven't for a long time, so this is an assumption based
on trying to get into the mindset of someone who 1) _is_ still using IE6 and
2) has control over the update (ie, ignoring those in large corporates who
can't update themselves).

If I'm using IE6, do I even know what a "browser" is? Let along an "outdated
one"? And what, exactly, are the five colourful round things on the bottom of
the page? Ah, wait, one of them says I need to be using the 'e' with the
orange swoosh - quick check of my internet, and yes, I am using the 'e' with
the swoosh. Problem solved.

So the message needs to be clearer, given the self-selecting audience it's
targeting: Even "Your internet experience is slow and will attract more
viruses. Upgrade your speed and protection for free." sounds nice, but also
sounds like I'm the 1,000,000th visitor and I've won a free iPod.

Criticsm has been leveled that MSFT are pushing solely the upgrade to IE8,
just delaying the problem. And I'd love to see more of the world using Firefox
or Chrome. But if I am still using IE6 it's not because I understand my
browser options, or even what a browser is. It's because it works, and it's
familiar - pushing IE8 helps overcome the familiarity hurdle. And after all,
it's used for "exploring" the "internet" - I already visit Google, I don't
want to look at Operas or a Safari, and what the hell is a Mozilla?

Maybe "The Orange swoosh is better than the Blue swoosh. The latest version of
Internet Explorer is now available at no cost." It's not a long term solution,
but it _is_ based in reality.

I'm now going to have a shower to cleanse me of my pro-Microsoft argument.

~~~
notahacker
I'll go a step further: the person that uses IE6 really _shouldn't_ be
changing the software on their computer because a big shiny graphic on a
website tells them to. Either you're wasting their time because they don't
have the permissions from BigCorp to install stuff, or they don't know very
much about computers and shouldn't be downloading malware because ad banners
tell them they might get a virus or speed their computer up. Just because your
motivations are more noble doesn't mean that using the same design
antipatterns is a good idea.

The Microsoft banner is horrendous too. If you must (because your
functionality doesn't work on IE6), give them a text link to the Microsoft
upgrade page with a "You need to update your Internet Explorer for this site
to work correctly. You can do this by going to the Microsoft free download
page _here_. You can also find out more about the latest version by going to
Microsoft.com and searching for Internet Explorer".

Other options (probably via browserchoice.eu) should be secondary. And I say
this despite IE8 being a horrible browser I wouldn't use voluntarily.

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shaggyfrog
I've showed some of these sites to a client as we have a Web app in the wild
and I want to avoid the inevitable IE6 support calls. He is reluctant to use
anything I've shown him so far since the language in the copy is always a
little too pointed. He's afraid that users will get scared off, and he's
probably right.

I think the default wording should use kid gloves, something like "To fully
take advantage of this website, please upgrade your browser". Or maybe "This
website uses advanced features that your browser does not support because it
is out-of-date".

Has anyone done any A/B testing?

~~~
aslamnd
Good point. I'm working on a new copy. Will update it soon!

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jarin
I prefer <http://browser-update.org/> as it is a little less intrusive than a
centered popup.

Of course, you may want intrusive (like if your site is horribly broken in
IE6) or you may prefer not to direct users to a wordy explanation page, so
this is a pretty good option.

~~~
john-n
Thats not a very user-friendly site, lots of text, download links are not
clear. Keep in mind who your target audience are...

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DjDarkman
OR you could just not write IE6 hacks and the users would suffer a little and
just catch on. The reason IE6 is still used is because IE6 hacks are still
used.

And btw, I wouldn't use that banner for one reason: I don't promote IE
download under no circumstances. IE8/9 may be hot now, but it will suck just
as bad in a few years as IE6 now.

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th
This project has a similar purpose: <https://code.google.com/p/ie6-upgrade-
warning/> (this was created pre-ie6countdown)

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paulbjensen
I have an enhancement to your image:

<http://twitpic.com/47epfb>

~~~
aslamnd
Yes, agree. Real enhancement comes when the IE is not in the list. :)

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givan
sadly there is IE on that list, even if is a new version, after some time it
will become the new IE6, a buggy non standard browser, just ditch IE
completely and save the internet.

~~~
paulirish
"IE w/ Chrome Frame plugin" would be a better choice than asking them to
upgrade to IE8.

~~~
tomelders
No, that puts the burden of keeping IE up to scratch on Google, which is just
bizarre situation to be in. Chrome Frame is a quick fix, but it can't last
forever.

I'll bet £100 that IE will never be Standards Compliant. Microsoft have
demonstrated over and over again that they have no interest in being even
remotely Standards Compliant. It would be better for the Internet as a whole
if IE simply ceased to exist.

~~~
djg38
_No_ browser is standards compliant. That's impossible; the "standards", at
least pre-HTML5, contain ambiguities and self-conflicts. It's all a matter of
degree. And I can't agree with your assessment, Microsoft has shown interest
in improving their standards support repeatedly. Each browser was closer to
the mark than the last.

~~~
tomelders
But still miles behind the competition. Their improvements have been tiny and
often incomplete. The discrepancies are far too great to be passed off as "we
just need a little time to catch up". Microsoft aren't a bit player here. I'll
judge them by the same standards I judge myself or anybody else; IE is a sad
excuse for a browser, and IE9 will be just as bad as the rest.

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unicornporn
alt="Download Interent Exploer"

Intentional spelling "mistake"?

~~~
aslamnd
Spelling mistake corrected. Thanks.

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lazyjeff
Why is the image in .jpg? That's unfortunate...

~~~
aslamnd
Then what is the best format you suggest?

