In 2002 and 2003 it was used by almost 90% of all Internet users. It was the most popular browser up to 2007 until it was supplanted by its successors and competitors. Now less than 2% of Wikidot traffic is served for users of that browser.
Internet Explorer 6 is now a way outdated web browser. It's not compliant with web standards such as CSS, XHTML and has serious issues with web security.
In March 2011 Microsoft officially dropped support for IE 6 encouraging users to switch to newer versions of the browser. They said newer versions provide better privacy and security settings, tabbed browsing and improved speed.
Internet Explorer 6 is not only not recommended browser for users, but also means much work for developers. Constant need of testing web sites in this non-compliant browsers makes us work less on improving user interface or fixing bugs.
Because of this, we decided to completely drop support for Internet Explorer 6 in Wikidot service. The sites should be still accessible for readers, but no actions or interfaces (think My Account, Site Manager or toolbars in page editor) will be explicitly designed to work with it. We will stop including workarounds for bugs in Explorer 6 in all upcoming features.
It's worth noting that all major browsers but Internet Explorer behave mostly in the same way, so there's no need to test every piece of code in many of them. Dropping support for IE 6 means every new code needs to be tested only in a standard-complaint browser (such as Firefox or Safari), IE 7 and 8.
If you still use Internet Explorer, we suggest you to switch to other browser, that behaves in a more predictable way and properly support the newest web standards, like CSS3, XHTML and HTML5. This will make your browsing experience richer and more stable and efficient. We recommend using Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome.
I was stuck using IE6 on many work PCs for too many years because we were still running Win2K on our cash register system and it was just too expensive to upgrade. Just 2 weeks ago, I finished my last PC upgrade where I can finally say good-bye to IE6! It was a great feeling to finally be done with that year-long project and to say "adios" to IE6. We only use IE for Outlook Web Mail and MS Remote Desktop (because of ActiveX) and Firefox for most everything else.
Community Admin
This is good. IE6 always was horrible and I'm not at all sad to see it consigned to the trashcan.
Rob Elliott - Strathpeffer, Scotland - Wikidot first line support & community admin team.
I'm happy, maybe this will be a reason for everyone to start making the switch to Google Chrome :)
CEO of Icon Deposit
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Not to mention that it has one of the most unimaginative names for software ever. Really, it's used for exploring the internet?
Anyway, I'm happy to see it go. Firefox all the way!
You can include Opera in your recommendations. As I see it, it is far superior to Firefox and if you ask me, it behaves better than Chrome when stressed out.
If you don't believe me, try it out. After using it for a week you'll find yourself getting plug-ins for the other browser you are using so that they behave like Opera (Speed Dial and Mouse Gestures).
I would also recommend Internet Explorer 9, for those that want to stick with IE.
Internet Explorer 9 Downloads Top 2 Million on First Day (that article also explains some of the improvements when moving from IE8 to IE9).
Download: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-AU/internet-explorer/downloads/ie
Personally though, I prefer Google Chrome. Just thought it was important to mention the many improvements that the IE9 team has made to the browser. It had a lot of web standards to catch up on, and there are a few places that it still falls down… but CSS3 and HTML5 support is far better than it was in IE8.
~ Leiger - Wikidot Community Admin - Volunteer
Wikidot: Official Documentation | Wikidot Discord server | NEW: Wikiroo, backup tool (in development)
Shane said…
Yes, now it supports custom @font-face's
CEO of Icon Deposit
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To be fair, Internet Explorer was the first browser to implement the @font-face rule - I believe it was first added in IE4 (1997).
BMC Creative | RoaringApps | @brycecammo
Just to remind that we once maintained this table.
I suppose I won't be having to do any more of the right picture anymore!
I've liked Firefox since I've gotten it, though I haven't had much experience with other browsers. I really enjoy Firefox's Firebug, though.
Timothy Foster - @tfAuroratide
Auroratide.com - Go here if you're nerdy like me
I'm glad the IE6 nightmare is finally over. When I first started a wiki here in 2008 it was awfully painful making a theme that worked consistently on all browsers. Similarly, GMail and many major sites already told users IE6 isn't going to be officially supported anymore. Hopefully we can get some more snazzy and modern features now :)