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US Copyright Office Considering MSIE-only website
wikinerd writes "The United States Copyright Office asks whether you would have any problem if you were required to use Microsoft Internet Explorer in order to pre-register a work via their website. The Norwegian government recently said no to proprietary formats, but it seems that the US government sites should be informed about the existence of non-Microsoft Web browsers, such as Firefox, Konqueror, Opera, and Safari. I have written a letter about this issue, which is posted on my blog for everyone to copy and base on it their own response. If they see how many people use alternative browsers, they'll probably reconsider and stay within the W3C standards."
You think this is a decision made at the highest levels? Give me a break. This is either some idiot web developer willing to put up with the bs of doing business with the Feds. Or perhaps it is one of those: $X for ie only $X * 1.5 if we have to deal with multiple browsers.
Getting the little stuff right between browsers takes time. Most of our customers think we are nuts when we suggest spending more time (their money) so we can get those 2-5% chunks of the browser market, each of which behaves a bit differently. Like it or not ie is the "standard-defying standard."
That said, I understand their impulse, but it is a dumb idea. Nice that they asked first, though.