Dear IE6, I hate you

There comes a time in every old browser’s life to pack up shop and, well, fuck off. This time has come and gone for IE6.

The game’s up, IE6

IE6 was was released on August 27 2001. Over seven years later, 42% of global users are still browsing the web with it. This worries me. It’s possibly the worst “modern” browser out there, with a broken box-model, no support for PNG alpha transparency, lack of support for pseudo classes, no min-height support, a nasty flickering background bug, and at least seven ways to crash it with one very mundane line of code. To say it’s unstable is an understatement; to say it makes the job of a web designer difficult is even more so.

What to do, what to do…

To-date, us conscientious web professionals have gathered and used a toolbox full of workarounds (better known as hacks!) that help smooth out the wrinkles. But supporting this beast has only masked the issues and reduced the incentive for those 42% to upgrade. It’s like putting a plastic sheet on your child’s bed instead of telling him drinking before bedtime might not be a good idea. It’s like painting over cracks in a wall instead of getting it fixed. It’s like hiring an SEO instead of just building your site the right way from the start!

So I’ve decided that those backwards enough to not get with the times are not those I want to impress, or even visit this blog. I’ve decided to support the early adopters, the innovators and those in the know. I’ve decided to not worry about how badly this site will look in IE6. And most importantly, I’ve decided to be a lazy bastard and not bother with the hacks! Who’s with me?