Ask any Web front-end Web developer. Even those who are fully in love with Microsoft products. Everyone will tell you they hate Internet Explorer 6. Why? Because it is likely the oldest and most incompatible browser out there.

Ask any user who is not a Web developer or geek, but still uses the Internet on a daily basis. They probably don't even know what you are talking about. Users today are used to the luxury of almost bug-free websites, speed, seamless integration and a plethora of functionality that makes Web apps behave almost like desktop applications.

Web browsers have reached the point where they are more than just browsers. They are hostst for complex Web applications, like Google Mail, Google Maps, even most news platforms require a certain amount of JavaScript- or CSS 2 functionality. Without full CSS 2 and JavaScript support, the Web today is not even half the experience it is meant to be.

Internet Explorer 6 was born in the last century, released in 2001, that is eight years ago. For a technology that entered the mainstream about 15 years ago, eight years is really old for a software. It does support CSS 2 to some degree, but wouldn't it be for the endless hours developers spend in fixing bugs and working on extremely creative workarounds and hacks, Internet Explorer 6 wouldn't let you surf most of the sites you're used to at all.

Frankly, Internet Explorer 6 should enter retirement. Internet Explorer 7 and 8 may still be used by a majority of users (probably due to lack of knowledge that there are better alternatives), but IE 6 is destined to go away for good.

And yet, there is a little company in Redmond who thinks differently. As if it was to show the world all this didn't matter, they just announced that they will support Internet Explorer 6 until the year 2014. That, Microsoft, is your answer to the No IE 6 movement? Seriously?

This is where the brand experience comes in. My work stands for a certain quality. I simply cannot afford to give my customers a bad user experience. Hence, I am following Google's footprints and join the IE No More movement. If you came here using Internet Explorer 6, chances are, you already know what I'm talking about. Everybody else shouldn't notice any change. And that is just the way it's ought to be.

Related Links

• IE No More offers a code snippet to show a warning to Internet Explorer 6 users. It will not show up in any other browser but Internet Explorer 6. There is also a specific site to answer questions of corporate users.
• Browser Upgrade explains the reasons why to abort Internet Explorer 6
• Stop Living In The Past
• Hey, IT (it also has a Facebook group)
• End IE
• Bring Down IE6
• Dear IE6
• Too Cool For Internet Explorer
• Anti IE6 Campaign
• Stop IE6
• Save The Developers
• IE Death March
• IE sucks
• Facebook Group: IE6 Warning Campaign
• The Campaign To End IE6, by Ajaxian
• The Campaign To Get Rid Of IE6 Continues, By Cloud Ave
• Norwegian Media Against Internet Explorer (PDF)
• The European Commission forces Microsoft to deliver Windows 7 without Internet Explorer: No IE onboard Windows 7 in Europe (BBC News)