Digg: asking IE6 users to upgrade 'not only pointless, but sadistic!'

What should be done about Internet Explorer 6?  At the start of the year, Google clearly expressed its opinion that the increasingly elderly browser, first launched in 2001, was ready to be put out of its misery.  Any Gmail users logging in from IE6 received a message suggesting they upgrade to a more modern browser.  Digg has been a little less categorical, but as part of its consultation about whether or not to ban IE6, it has started asking users why they are still using such out-of-date software.

The point of the survey is pretty obvious.  Internet Explorer 8, the current version of Microsoft's browser, and other modern browsers support the same protocols, which allows web designers to concentrate on the important task of improving their site.  IE6, though, comes from an era when some technologies, like AJAX, which are now commonplace just didn't exist.  The goal of ensuring compatibility and interpretability wasn't as firmly cherished by web users either.

As a result, developers who want to support IE6 have to spend an increasing amount of time performing maintenance specifically aimed at this browser so that people who are using it can have the same experience as everybody else.

In Digg's case, IE6 represents 10% of visitors but fewer than 1% of people who actually interact with the site--but it still ''consumes time that could be spent building the future of Digg.''  This has led the site to consider abandoning support for IE6 for people who want to use its pages.  They'll still be able to view them, just not participate.

Why IE6?

For those who still use IE6, though, to simply view Digg's pages, the big question is why they still use IE6.  Digg decided to ask them.

The answers came back loud and clear: although 7% said they preferred it over other browsers, and 17% said that they didn't see any need to upgrade, the majority of people said they couldn't upgrade: 37% said ''I can’t upgrade because I don’t have administrator access on my computer,'' while 33% responded ''I can’t upgrade because someone at work says I can’t.''

Adding those users who have yet to upgrade to Windows XP, and so don't have access to more recent versions of Internet Explorer,  that makes more than three-quarters of people using IE6 who have no choice in the matter.

Digg's conclusion?  That it just wouldn't be fair to ban such users, or even to try to prompt them to upgrade when they can't.  On the Digg Technology blog, developer Mark Trammel said that ''Giving them a message saying, “Hey! Upgrade!” in this case is not only pointless; it’s sadistic.''