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Separating ourselves from our personal feelings on a particular software is
sometimes difficult(I am the first to admit this), but needed to best serve
our respective communities. That being said, I think a lot of legitimate
technical issues have been raised by various responders as to why IE6 should
not be supported in their online communities.

It also comes down to resources.  If he had unlimited man hours, we could
definitely make something workable for all browsers. Reaching the largest
possible users in an ethical, forward thinking manner is just as important
as the technical skills we all bring to the job in my opinion.
 Unfortunately, the reality is that our resources are not unlimited and we
must carefully choose which battles to fight and which ones to walk away
from.

As it has been pointed out, we all have different user bases and
environments, meaning everyone's decisions will influenced accordingly.  At
Comm. Arts, we actually are seeing between 5-7% IE6 usage, so for us having
a fairly technically inclined user base allowed us to move forward with
dropping support for IE6.

I would also like to point out that our filter will allow users to proceed
on with the site experience after informing them of why the site will not
render correctly, security concerns, etc.  Forcing a user to leave the site,
because they do not have a modern browser would make us no different then
the very software developers at Microsoft that many of us disdain.

-Marc

On Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Kwiatkowski, Nicholas <
<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>> wrote:

>  Personally I think that if a user has not decided to upgrade to a newer
> browser from any of the other major sites (Google/Yahoo/CNN/etc), that it is
> not tough to think that you having a message on your site will make any
> difference.
>
> I would guess that most people who are still on IE6 are on IE6 due to
> corporate restrictions (I see this a lot -- many use a specific web app that
> requires certain Active X Components that they won't be upgrading any time
> soon), or because they are still on dialup and it would take hours, if not
> days to download the latest (IE 7 + patches comes in at a whopping 450 MB
> for XP users).
>
> Nudging people by saying that the content is optimized for a newer browser
> is all I can really recommend.  Forcing them, or blocking content puts us in
> a situation where it would seem that we don't want to serve them.
>
> -Nick Kwiatkowski
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Roger Chance [<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>]
> *Sent:* Thursday, September 09, 2010 9:57 AM
>
> *To:* <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>
> *Subject:* Re: Our beloved IE6
>
>   I think it is a good idea to filter traffic using older browsers to
> encourage upgrade on sites where older browser would be a security risk.  I
> do wonder if that filter should be broader than just IE6.  Older versions of
> Firefox, Safari and Chrome have all been upgraded in part to address
> security issues.
>
> Since one is filtering on a browser version it would seem to me to be
> appropriate to provide browser and OS specific content.  Viewer comes in
> with IE 6 provide IE upgrade information and link as the prominent choice.
> Comes in with old version of Firefox provide Firefox info and upgrade link
> as prominent choice.
>
> Just as many open source projects do, come in on a Windows OS and the top
> of the page download button and info is for Windows version.  Mac or Linux
> OS and the appropriate download button and info that tops the page is for
> them, with other offerings listed below.
>
> Leading someone to download Firefox or Chrome when the run IE 6 is probably
> an uphill battle plus may leave them with the impression that they are
> "required" to select something different than they currently run.
>
> I have family that would be challenged to upgrade the browser they use and
> get annoyed at every difference between old and new.  You get them to
> download a different browser and they will hate you.  And I'll probably be
> pretty annoyed at having to explain it to them while they complain
> about your site.
> Roger
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Marc Hudson <<a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>>
> *To:* <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 08, 2010 11:36 PM
> *Subject:* Re: Our beloved IE6
>
>  For us, it came down to security.  IE6 has several well known major
> security exploits.  We actively funnel interested parties to
> givingto.msu.edu.  Sending users who use IE6 to a page where they may pass
> sensitive financial information wasn't something we were interested in
> doing.
>
>  IE6 has been effectively discontinued by many major websites including
> Google, Youtube, Facebook, etc. because development costs far outweigh the
> advantages to supporting it.  Also, as Michael pointed out, Microsoft has
> announced discontinuation of support.
>
>  As far as reaching the largest possible audience is concerned, we
> designed the new cas.msu.edu website with many bandwidth saving
> techniques, including image sprites, which aren't supported in IE6.
>  Reaching users with limited internet options was more important than
> providing support for a dated browser which exposes our users to a variety
> of security risks.
>
>  That being said, we are working on an IE6 filter that clearly explains
> our position and provides links to a number of free and popular browsers
> including Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera.
>
>  -Marc
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 1:07 PM, VanPutten, Michael <
> <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind1009%26L%3DWEBDEVCAFE%26E%3Dquoted-printable%26P%3D116905%26B%3D--0016368e2bb14402c5048fd85d1c%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dwindows-1252" >[log in to unmask]</a>> wrote:
>
>> We all work under diverse circumstances that require different approaches.
>>
>>
>> I admire developers who create pages that:
>>
>>
>>    - have HTML and CSS code that validates without errors or warnings
>>    (i.e., you are in the right ball park for having the content of the page be
>>    usable by most visitors)
>>    - have pages that pass automated accessibility tools (e.g., webaim.org)
>>
>>    - add enhanced functionality that doesn’t impact getting access to
>>    information or requesting services (i.e., you can still use the site with
>>    most any desktop or mobile Web browser, even if it is coded for HTML5 and
>>    only really looks its best in Safari or other browser)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Regarding IE 6...
>>
>> Microsoft publishes information about the support life cycle for their
>> products. Information regarding Internet Explorer 6 can be found by visiting
>> http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifesupsps/#Internet_Explorer. Here is
>> what they say:
>>
>>  Support ends 24 months after the next service pack releases or at the
>> end of the product's support lifecycle, whichever comes first.
>>
>>  Dates for when service packs for Windows XP were released can be found
>> here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/servicepacks.mspx. The
>> site indicates that no further updates are planned for Windows XP. So, the
>> final SP release dates are:
>>
>>
>>    - XP Home Edition SP3 was released May 6, 2008
>>    - XP Professional SP3 was released May 6, 2008
>>
>>
>> Official support for Internet Explorer 6 (which would have been bundled
>> with a service pack) would be May 6, 2010. So, the software doesn’t appear
>> to be supported by its vendor anymore.
>> *
>> Michael VanPutten
>> *Senior Marketing Communications Manager for Web and New Media
>> *Michigan State University > *University Relations
>> Spartans Will.
>>
>
>