"And for the WEB developers out there--welcome to the world of legacy systems, and a diverse user base."

And for the IT departments supporting these legacy systems out there--welcome to the world of being able to run more than one browser on a single machine, and IE8's six rendering modes. (including IE5)

Y'know, I probably wouldn't have a problem with trying to push out IE6 if it weren't that the biggest supporters of its elimination are such utter dicks about it all.

I hate rehashing this, as it's been said recently elsewhere, but not everybody has their choice of browser, and snotty error messages don't endear me to your cause.

I might be forced to use an older IE browser at the office, but nasty messages make me not want to use your site/app/product when I get home on a less encumbered browser.

My current old-IE boilerplate says something along the lines of "We apologize, but we do not have the resources to test our products in all browsers, and things may not work correctly in your version. If possible, please upgrade your browser to a more recent version." And honestly, that line makes me feel guilty, because I completely understand that it's oftentimes outside their control... As a sidenote, that's a conditional comment on the page, and doesn't exit() from anything -- which means I at least let them TRY to use the site.

How is this a nasty message?

"Warning! You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser."

It's the literal truth, and it's not abusive...

I apologize. I had just hit another site in which I received a nasty message. I should have clarified that my ire wasn't necessarily targeted at the article, or the site in general, but at the holier-than-thou who feel the need to rub my nose in it.

Again, my apologies.

Some people can't choose, and some people don't care. A great example that was given to me was cars. Does your car have a stock radio? Why? Why not upgrade it?

Most people don't want to bother with updating a browser, or changing a stereo, etc.

Because the stock radio will still work. If your browser stops working for half the sites you visit daily, you can bet almost everyone would upgrade.

I've upgraded 2 cars stock radios. An MP3 CD Desk is a lot better for me than a Tape Deck.

(Maybe the link should read "See what the site would look like in a modern browser" - and show screenshots)

I'm willing to bet that the cost and effort of upgrading a stereo have a lot to do with it too.

Perhaps the cost to benefit ratio is too high to cater to someone like you or your business. I find it somewhat perplexing that it is businesses and universities and institutions which are lagging behind, the very institutions which would benefit the most by keeping up to date, keep hanging onto old times.

I (an intern) been discussing this with my boss as this movement has been growing for the past few weeks. I cam back from lunch today to an email from him with this article linked. Pleasant surprise.

Thanks for the story -- perfect validation for what we are trying to do!