[WEB4LIB] librarians using buggy browsers

[Bob Duncan]

At 07:48 AM 03/26/2001 -0800, Bill Drew wrote:
>I am really surprised at some of the comments I am getting on my new
>website.  The negative comments are ALL from librarians using buggy versions
>of Netscape and Internet Explorer.  I am curious as to why web savvy
>librarians would continue to use buggy versions of browsers as far back as
>4.0 of both IE and Netscape?

Maybe the answer is in the question---because we *are* "web savvy".  I use 
several browsers, versions, and platforms (not to mention connection 
methods and screen sizes/resolutions) because I know that my users do and 
because I know that many Web-based resources look and perform differently 
depending on the combination of these factors.

Until the perfect, non-buggy, free browser comes out with all the features 
I want/need for the public machines in my libraries, I use as my 
predominant browser the same one I have installed on those public machines, 
namely, Netscape Navigator (Standalone), version 4.08.  It may indeed be 
"buggy", but as far as I can tell, it's no more buggy than the browser 
module of any version of Netscape Communicator 4.x which has come out 
since.  (And I'm not ready for Netscape 6 any more than it appears to be 
ready for me.)

IMHO the implication in the phrase "as far back as 4.0" that higher 
versions automatically equals less buggy is false.  The problem I reported 
to Bill exists in NN4.08 (one of Bill's buggies), goes away in NC4.6, 
reappears in NC4.7 and 4.73, and goes away in version 6.  And just for the 
sake of argument, the problem I see when I visit billdrew.net using NN4.08 
does *not* exist if I copy the code from that page, paste it into a new 
doc, and view it locally (still in NN4.08).  Although I guess I'm savvy 
enough to run that experiment, I'm not savvy enough to know why there's a 
difference and whether it points to a buggy browser or buggy code or 
what.  (If a browser can't handle a chunk of code, which is buggy, the 
browser or the code?)


Bob Duncan


~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
   Robert E. Duncan
   Systems Librarian
   David Bishop Skillman Library
   Lafayette College
   Easton, PA 18042
   610-330-5156
   duncanr at lafayette.edu
   http://www.library.lafayette.edu/