However, IE6 Update does not at any point “strongly recommend they upgrade” because that would actually involve some level of informing the user what is wrong with IE6, why they should upgrade, and providing them with the appropriate actions to complete the upgrade painlessly. Instead, what appears to be a “security message” pops down, informing them, “Internet Explorer is missing updates required to view this site.” I don’t think it’s the right approach and honestly, a slight change in the presentation of this message would make a world of difference in my opinion.

Also, I don’t believe it’s accurate to say that most users are aware that they’re using an out-of-date version of IE.

I fully agree and I definitely don’t want to give too much credit to the complete tech “morons” out there. There are plenty of people who, as you say, don’t know “the difference between ‘Microsoft Windows’ and ‘Microsoft Office’.” However, on the flip side, there are plenty of users who are in corporate environments where the only PC they have access to is the one they use at work (which is ironically still on IE6). A large population of these users are in countries like India and of course the US. These are the users I am mainly referring to, but I agree, I think “most users” was not the correct portion to select.

Again, like I said before, the Pushing Up the Web concept is 100% acceptable in my opinion because it isn’t deceptive in the slightest but still gets the point across. Also, it works across all old browsers like Firefox 2 and Safari 2, which is great.

Thanks for stopping by Japh, I definitely enjoyed your rant.

This doesn’t make me feel any more sympathetic for IE6 though , considering when it was first launched, IE6 is by far the most outdated browser still “in the mix”. I guess that’s the sad reality of IE being bundled with Windows. Perhaps when 7 launches and businesses switch to Windows 7 powered systems, we’ll be able to squeeze away those last 15% reluctant IE6 users. In the meantime, we can blame Vista for IE6 troubles, since business don’t like Vista, which comes with IE7 (Which isn’t all that much better in the first place.)

Cheers,
Qiming

(In a couple of years IE6 will be dead, but for now, we should support it, even if we hate it.)

I would like to address this particular paragraph though:

In addition, most IE6 users are well aware their browser is completely incapable, sad, and pathetic. They don’t need you, a pretentious browser elitist, pushing a standards-compliant browser like Firefox or Safari down their throats. For the most part, they know IE6 sucks. In most cases, they literally have no other option due to being a corporate user with a locked down PC or laptop provided to them by their company.

IE6Update doesn’t try to push a “standards-compliant browser like Firefox or Safari” on to users. I realise you might not have meant that, but that’s how it reads. All it does, is strongly recommend they upgrade, for several reasons including the one you infer in the preceding paragraph regarding security.

Also, I don’t believe it’s accurate to say that most users are aware that they’re using an out-of-date version of IE. The kind of user this sort of thing targets is the kind of user who often isn’t certain about the difference between a browser and the internet, or the difference between “Microsoft Windows” and “Microsoft Office”.

I do agree though, that the wording, colouring, and the particular choice of icon are a little on the deceptive side, which is part of what inspired me to make a WordPress plugin for IE6Update. This way the various options that IE6Update has are more readily exposed for customisation. I myself have changed the wording and colouring on my own website.

I explain a little further on The Web Squeeze forum my exact thoughts on IE6Update in a thread titled “Is It Right To Trick People Into Upgrading Their Browser?” (I’m not the OP).

Anyway, great post, and thanks for mentioning my AudioBoo

Being authentic works almost all the time. It worked with my grandpa who used IE 5.5 and swore he’d never leave. Now he’s using Safari 3. It worked for many of my friends and family who didn’t like their PCs and switched to Mac. I wasn’t elitist. I just told them my preference and why. They made the move if they felt it.

The stuff over at hugs for monsters is ridiculous, joke or not. Its offending, mean and disrespectful.