CSS Wanting Layout Engines and Browser Warfare

I’ve trying to get rid of the frames in the OSR Program and Leader Guide.  Frames make it hard to link to things so I’ve been working on a pure CSS menu system like they have at GRC.  They’re setup is full of wierd hacks to make Safari 7.9.1 work correctly and so on so I tried something stripped down and came up with this.  I think it looks nice and would go wonderfully under the OSR banner.  There’d be more links simplifying navigation and adding and removing links would be a snap, except it DOESN’T WORK AT ALL UNDER IE 6.  Every other browser from Mosaic 4.0 to Firefox’s Fennec mobile browser alpha to Ice Weasel renders it correctly except for IE 6.

Knowing IE 6 would figure heavily into the usage patterns of the proletariat leaders browsing the site leaving it there and letting users realize they’re the dalit of web users wasn’t an option.  So after learning a little javascript and a lot of Ctrl+U (view page source) and violating some IP laws I go this gem.  It’s the red-headed stepchild of menus replacing the absolutely lovely previous menu with a kludge that only properly renders in IE6.

Maybe I should just create two versions of the sites:  I was thinking this’d be a chore until I realized it may save me some work.  If someone’s still using IE 6 that version would direct the user to a form that’d go to me so I could send them a copy of the web page on stone tablets which is the appropriate level of support for someone who hates the World Wide Web enough to abuse it with their knuckle-dragging tech competence.  Or if they’re a little better than that, I’ll make one that’s just one giant page; the web equivalent of a double elephant folio.  I’ll even include the PDFs as images that way it could literally be the only page they have to visit for camp information. “Yes, ma’am.  The document you need is there.  Make sure your browser window is full screen then hit tab 214 times, and press print screen.”

For Knotgeek: I blame this on Opera.  By bringing up the whole concept of standards-compliant rendering they freed the dove of hope only to be struck by IE 6′s failboulder.

View CommentsCSS Wanting Layout Engines and Browser Warfare

  • knotgeek

    Welcome to my world. IE is a pain in the patuty, and I'm currently coding extrememly simple web pages to be served up by intelligent clocks.

    I'm also trying to code something with Visual Studio 2008. At least three different application frameworks, each of which enforces a different strict and convoluted class hierarchy, and each of which is totally undocumented in any way that would let you find what class to use.

    As Bill Gates said: “Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.” (W3C is a daunty little starship, firing standards at them and then retreating.)

  • knotgeek

    Welcome to my world. IE is a pain in the patuty, and I'm currently coding extrememly simple web pages to be served up by intelligent clocks.

    I'm also trying to code something with Visual Studio 2008. At least three different application frameworks, each of which enforces a different strict and convoluted class hierarchy, and each of which is totally undocumented in any way that would let you find what class to use.

    As Bill Gates said: “Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.” (W3C is a daunty little starship, firing standards at them and then retreating.)

  • Why not do something equivalent to Jeremy's “UPDATE YOUR BROWSER, IT'S SEVEN YEARS OLD”. You might have to be a bit nicer than he is about it, but having it default to a screen with links to IE7 or FF2 downloads might just be easier than anything else you've mentioned.

  • Why not do something equivalent to Jeremy's “UPDATE YOUR BROWSER, IT'S SEVEN YEARS OLD”. You might have to be a bit nicer than he is about it, but having it default to a screen with links to IE7 or FF2 downloads might just be easier than anything else you've mentioned.

  • knotgeek

    Welcome to my world. IE is a pain in the patuty, and I'm currently coding extrememly simple web pages to be served up by intelligent clocks.

    I'm also trying to code something with Visual Studio 2008. At least three different application frameworks, each of which enforces a different strict and convoluted class hierarchy, and each of which is totally undocumented in any way that would let you find what class to use.

    As Bill Gates said: “Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.” (W3C is a daunty little starship, firing standards at them and then retreating.)

  • A lot of people access it from work where they either don't have a choice
    with the browser, or would have to set up proxy settings. Yes, there's a
    “COPY THE PREVIOUS SETTINGS” button that's the size of a baseball, but I
    have no doubt one of them would find a way to destroy their workplace's IT
    setup in the name of OSR's Leader Guide.

    Maybe this is a case of pearls before swine. If they insist on using a
    seven year old browser, they should get a 10 year old layout, frames an all.
    Terry Robinson

  • A lot of people access it from work where they either don't have a choice
    with the browser, or would have to set up proxy settings. Yes, there's a
    “COPY THE PREVIOUS SETTINGS” button that's the size of a baseball, but I
    have no doubt one of them would find a way to destroy their workplace's IT
    setup in the name of OSR's Leader Guide.

    Maybe this is a case of pearls before swine. If they insist on using a
    seven year old browser, they should get a 10 year old layout, frames an all.
    Terry Robinson

  • Knotgeek

    Unfortunately, not an option. Most folks have no idea what a browser is, let alone which one they are using.. How many are still using whatever came on their AOL CD? The difference between custom software and market software — for custom software you only have to satisfy one user to be a success. for market software, you only have to PO one customer to be a failure.

    I love what I do, programming to the LCD.

  • Knotgeek

    Unfortunately, not an option. Most folks have no idea what a browser is, let alone which one they are using.. How many are still using whatever came on their AOL CD? The difference between custom software and market software — for custom software you only have to satisfy one user to be a success. for market software, you only have to PO one customer to be a failure.

    I love what I do, programming to the LCD.

  • Facebook User

    Why not do something equivalent to Jeremy's “UPDATE YOUR BROWSER, IT'S SEVEN YEARS OLD”. You might have to be a bit nicer than he is about it, but having it default to a screen with links to IE7 or FF2 downloads might just be easier than anything else you've mentioned.

  • A lot of people access it from work where they either don't have a choice
    with the browser, or would have to set up proxy settings. Yes, there's a
    “COPY THE PREVIOUS SETTINGS” button that's the size of a baseball, but I
    have no doubt one of them would find a way to destroy their workplace's IT
    setup in the name of OSR's Leader Guide.

    Maybe this is a case of pearls before swine. If they insist on using a
    seven year old browser, they should get a 10 year old layout, frames an all.
    Terry Robinson

  • Knotgeek

    Unfortunately, not an option. Most folks have no idea what a browser is, let alone which one they are using.. How many are still using whatever came on their AOL CD? The difference between custom software and market software — for custom software you only have to satisfy one user to be a success. for market software, you only have to PO one customer to be a failure.

    I love what I do, programming to the LCD.

Leave a Reply

 

 

 

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Powered by WP Hashcash

blog comments powered by Disqus