J. Cornelius

Yesterday Google announced that they enhanced Gmail for IE 6 users. Really?

Google updated the Gmail core almost a year ago. According to the post “IE6 wasn’t able to handle the complexity of the new code in a way that met our performance and stability goals”. So now, 10 months later they release new code saying “we’ve been working with the IE engineers at Microsoft to address these issues” and that Microsoft has released updates for IE6 that correct critical Javascript memory issues.

We can look at this from several perspectives:

1. The Conspiracy Theorist: — They did all the work to support IE6 in parallel with development of Chrome to help better understand the Javascript memory pitfalls and avoid them. Plus they didn’t want to seem they were trying to push Chrome too hard by releasing it, then dropping support for IE6.
2. The Economist: — Simple. The 80/20 rule. IE6 still commands a decent share of the browser market (about 24.5%), and a global service like Gmail can’t afford to ignore it. If Google is to continue to monetize their services, telling nearly a quarter of the market to look elsewhere just isn’t a good idea.
3. The Strategist: — Google is rapidly taking over much of the Web service mindshare, particularly amongst more saavy users. If they are to become a household name for more than just search, they need to appeal to the broadest group of users possible. Again, ignoring 25% of the market is a bad choice in light of that goal.

As much as we designers and developers like to bash IE6 (and for good reason), it isn't dead yet. Unfortunately for us, moves like this from mega-corporations like Google are extending the life of this aging beast and counteracting the diligent efforts of the design community to drop IE6 support altogether.

What can we do?

We could boycott Gmail, sign a petition, maybe organize a march on the Googleplex. I’ll tick the box next to “none of the above”. The developer community can voice it's opinion about IEs loud and clear, but until the voices of change make up 25% of the market, don’t expect much.

What can we learn?

Now I firmly believe that IE6 is a complete asspain to work with and develop for. I would love to see people upgrade to IE7, or better, a non Microsoft browser. But for now that’s somewhat of a pipe-dream. Has Google done the right thing in extending support for IE6? In their position, yes. That doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for everyone. Have a close look at your user agent stats and see for yourself. If you can afford to turn away significant percentage of your customers, or if you just don’t have that many IE6 visitors, go for it. Otherwise, remember the words of Frank Lloyd Wright and create things for audience first, egos last.