[Web4lib] Getting Rid of IE 6

[David Kane]

Hi David,

Run a Javascript browser detection script that advises them to update.
If this update is a problem for them, - then they need more help that you
could ever give..

Regards,

David Kane
Waterford Institute of Technology
Ireland.

2009/4/10 Cloutman, David <DCloutman at co.marin.ca.us>

> Hi Everyone,
>
> My library is looking to launch our new Web site last month (hurray).
> Early in the development process, about 6 months ago, I had to make a
> decision about what browsers the new site would support in terms of HTML
> / CSS. My goal was at least 95% support of what was being used. At that
> time, I looked at the numbers, and decided that IE6 would be going away,
> and that over the life of the site, it wouldn't be an issue. (I figure a
> typical site keeps a template for about 3 years.) The problem is that
> the IE 6 market share has only gone down marginally since I made that
> decision, and I'm looking at about 90% - 93% browser support at launch
> time. It's not the end of the world, but in order to mitigate the issue,
> I have posted a browser detecting JavaScript routine that looks for
> versions if IE <=6, and then displays a message telling them to upgrade.
> The technology works great. I'm tracking all the IE 6 hits through
> images that load in the message. I'm also tracking click-throughs to the
> IE Upgrade page and the Firefox page. (I wanted to give people options.)
> The problem is that after a week I'm still getting a lot of hits, but
> diminishing numbers of click-throughs. Part of the problem may be that
> the IE upgrade page on the Microsoft's site doesn't load flawlessly in
> IE 6. (Oops.) The other problem may be that people saw the warning
> regarding the pending non-support of their browser, and my rather
> technical disclaimer urging them to upgrade, and are now ignoring it.
>
> So here's my question for the list. How do I communicate to users, who
> for all I know may not even know the meaning of the word "upgrade", that
> they need to visit the Microsoft site, work through the issues, and
> install a new piece of software? Also, and this is more fun issue, for
> the ones that are really just lazy or obstinate, how do I grab their
> attention. I am not above using Lolcats or dancing hamsters. Creative
> suggestions are welcome.
>
> Happy Friday,
>
> - David
>
> ---
> David Cloutman <dcloutman at co.marin.ca.us>
> Electronic Services Librarian
> Marin County Free Library
>
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