Playlouder dev blog

As a web developer who’s been through a lot of pain in the last 5 years trying to support this backwards browser, I have to say this was rather a relief. We’ve previously attempted to get everything functional, if not feature-complete in IE6, but after the latest round of changes we just didn’t feel it was worth the considerable additional effort. IE6 users will now see a politely-worded message:

You appear to be using Internet Explorer 6. While Playlouder might work OK for you, it’s not supported by us, and there will probably be a few problems. For a better browsing experience, why not upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, or get Firefox. Either of these will ensure a great improvement in your experience of the Playlouder site, and should improve your general internet experience and computer security too!

We didn’t take the decision lightly - but we feel it’s the way forward. Google analytics tell us that around 60% of Playlouder users (loudplayers?) are accessing the site from Windows, and of those 60% using IE6. So that’s a sizable 36% chunk of our audience we’re asking to upgrade. Why?

• IE6 is, to put it politely, extremely backwards and its lack of standards support is unrivaled by any other widely-deployed browser
• With IE6 users now in the minority, the web needs compelling sites to start requiring an upgrade for IE6 users, to really spur upgrades and push that figure down even further
• We’re already requiring invites for new sign-ups, and feel that the upgrade isn’t too much of an extra step for users who’ve already had the motivation to seek an invite
• We’re not forcing any ideology on users - while I’d personally prefer they use Firefox, I’d be equally happy if they carry on using what appears to be their preferred browser (IE), provided they upgrade to the latest version. IE7 is easily available and people need to be told that the older version just won’t cut it on the web any more.
• The additional development costs just aren’t worth it for us at this stage - especially bearing in mind that given another year or so IE6 should be consigned to the dustbin of browser history.