Unbridled Idiocy
Following some links, I managed to get sucked into a black hole of intelligence where only the indescribably stupid can survive. I felt myself devolving the longer I stayed. It was like a Barney episode with a repetitive techno soundrack.
On my way out I found this guy's website [link removed by request]. On it he states:
no offence, but this site looks and works better with the following requirements met (sorry no IE). If this is not to your liking, please, feel free to make comments about why we should design for an inferior browser...
"Feel free" eh?... So I did.
How about designing for people, not browsers?
No offence but what's inferior is your design skills. There's nothing IE can't display - you just have to be a little more creative for older versions prior to 7.
You can be frustrated as much as you like, but when you choose not to support the world's most popular (albeit default) choice, then you come off looking like idiots.
There. I felt more free already, but when I checked my mail today I saw his response. Prepare for the first pictures ever taken from inside the black hole of intelligence.
Hello, and thank you for visiting my site. I'm sorry that you found it annoying that I have decided to block IE. Although i've accepted your opinion I did find it mildly uncool to critique my design skills. That's not really the issue and the reason why I have blocked the IE browser.
OK, so what is the issue? what's the good reason? If your design skills aren't the problem then what is? There are only a couple of (unratified) things Firefox does that Internet Explorer doesn't and none of them are in use on his site (I checked) and even those can be designed around. Safari doesn't support them either, but that's not blocked!
Either way... If you don't want to design for IE, just don't. What works will work, and what doesn't will fail -- what's the reason to actively block it?
Sure, my site IS viewable in IE because I've tested it. I decided to not support IE [he means block it completely] because I can, plain and simple. It's my domain, it's my site, it's my content and I don't like IE.
I'm searching for a reason in there, but there isn't one. Whatever, it's your site I get it... but why are you complaining to me? -- Didn't you invite me to comment if I didn't like your decision? Something about "feeling free" as I recall...
I get hits regardless and sometimes I don't because of the IE block (boo hoo). Those that wanna see what I have, have done and currently am doing will figure it out and those that wanna bitch about it, well.... do I need to say it?
Yes dammit, you do need to say it. You need to say exactly why you're acting so wounded when you've put a big FUCK OFF sign on your website, and asked people to leave their comments on it. Here comes the real gem:
I've done enough (and continue) in my career as a professional video/film editor & musician to know one thing in life. It's not how you do something, it's that it gets done
Right, it doesn't matter whether your mechanic puts your new brake pads on properly just as long as they're on. Spit-n-stick is apparently an acceptable method of automotive repair. Be sure to tell him that next time you're there.
I wonder if perhaps this attitude is prevalent amongst film-editors particularly, which is why so many films suck donkey balls, and why so many horrible edits make it into even big-budget films. Nobody ever accused musicians of being goal-oriented or reliable.
And will someone please tell me why it's always morons who think they'll be more credible if they tell you their bloody résumé? This guy would have an aneurysm if I started quoting mine.
So to critique my design skills is futile, that's something I really don't give a shit about
Obviously it's futile, but don't pretend you don't care. Why else would you be emailing me to cry about it?
What I do care about is that it's available (minus IE)
And I suppose it's completely acceptable and not at all arrogant to require windows users to load up another browser just to view your site? Apparently within this guy's microcosm it's perfectly acceptable to walk around with your head up your arse.
If IE is the ONLY thing a person uses, may god have mercy on their soul
Aha! a religious zealot waging a browser-based holy war. Dude, I want to be your friend so much right now.
Honestly, have you sent an e-mail to the myriad of other websites that don't support IE or have "inferior design skills"? Why pick on me then take a jab at my skill because you couldn't view my site? Was that necessary?
Listen, I'm sorry you're so upset, but I didn't upset you. You upset yourself by inviting people to comment on your moronic decision. You asked me for feedback, and I gave it to you, and this is the thanks I get?
Are you the design standards police? Looks as though you've got yourself a wordpress site there, is that a template? Does that make you radtasticlly better than I and Über IE compliant?
Hell no, and I have my own browser woes, but do you see me artificailly blocking access to my site, just because I have my panties in a bunch about it? What kind of idiot would block access entirely, instead of simply offering a friendly warning (perhaps with a firefox download link, you know the kind you can make a dollar off each time) that things may not display correctly. You're being stupid, and you asked me to tell you, so I did.
By the way, template? yes.. that's what you call a design which is wrapped around database-driven content. What do they call it there in your black hole?
BTW, I thought about posting this in your comments but then decided to NOT be an asshole.
Well now you have a relevant post to put it on. Feel free to expose your idiocy further.
Maybe next time you won't ask for comments unless you really want them.
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Wow, that’s brutal, lol.
I dunno if I agree with posting this or not, but it’s good for a laugh. It really does seem pretty silly to block specific browsers.
Oh well, he did ask for it.
I couldn’t have posted it if he didn’t chase me by email.
Also, he made a big deal about not posting it here himself, so I figured I’d demonstrate how little that actually meant to me.
To be fair, his website is called “isolated”! With a lame bastardized l33t-speak version of it, of course. ;-)
But on a more serious note, this particular comment caught my eye -
Well said and hats off. A lot of people do not get that, and that, I believe, is one of the biggest problems with today’s designers. They restrict who can access their content based on their competence, and justify it to themselves using whatever means they can.
People like this guy defeat the very purpose of the web, which was designed to be a medium of communication agnostic to the end-user tools used for the said communication.
And he seems to have blogged about you, too, gee. On one hand, I feel amused and on the other, I am just sitting here shaking my head.
Cheers Karthik - that line was from my initial comment on his blog, back when I was still trying to be somewhat constructive.
Of course that’s all over now… We’ve since exchanged numerous emails, which I won’t bother posting unless he decides to post them with some creative editing.
It’s an odd thing - on one hand it is amusing, but it’s also pretty childish on both our parts. I don’t mind really, most of my posts here have maturity to spare, so I can afford myself a little slack.
I’d say in the end, I got through.
Well, I consider it a positive result, at least.
Currently the text file on his website said to contain our conversation is ‘not found’ — it should probably stay that way, unless he really wants to show the world how many times I told him to fuck off and stop emailing me.
:)
… oh the joys of reciprocal linkage
I note that mine is the only one with ‘nofollow’ specified. Burn.
Going by what you’ve given on your About page, I’m assuming that you have been around the net long enough to post the equivalent of a good Usenet flame should the need arise. :)
Of course, it’s good that he has indeed made his website accessible on IE. Although the way I see it, some of these people are better off the web than on it.
YMMV and all that.
Cheers.
Heh yes, I’ve been around plenty long enough for that… and I have friends from the early days of IRC, some of whom are still there rotting away.
I logged back onto some of my old haunts a couple of years ago - some six or seven years after I officially stopped visiting… only to find a lot of the same nicks having the same conversations.
It was like slipping into someone else’s coma. Logging out was an indescribable relief.
… Just to prove how much of a cunt this guy really is, he’s posted my email address in plain text on his site.
I may be aggressive and arrogant, but I’ve not posted any personal information about him, nor have I actually named him on this site, so any information you glean about this guy is done off his own page.
Posting an email address for spam crawlers is an absolute cunt act. Neither of us need to be thinking about this 20 years from now.
I’ve asked him nicely (twice) to remove my email address. If he doesn’t I’ll be forced to escalate this. If there’s anything to know about me, it’s that I don’t back down from a threat. If you hurt me, I’ll bury you. Fuck the cost.
I think it’s interesting that this guy wants to make this little argument a long-standing dirty fight. Desperate for attention much?
In a show of good faith, I’ll report here if this felcher does the right thing in a reasonable timeframe.
You’re kidding dude. Posting your email is bad fucking mojo.
What are you going to do about it?
Nothing man, actually I just got back to my desk this minute and found an email from him stating that he’s removed the email address.
In fact he’s ditched the post from his page in an effort to put this all behind him and move on.
Good stuff.
He’s asked me to do the same, but at this time I’m only prepared to remove the single link I had to his site, thereby anonymising him entirely. I think that’s fair enough.
Actually it turns out I really don’t even dislike the guy, it’s just that I thought some of his thinking was pretty whacked. Clearly though he doesn’t want to make this a protracted thing, and neither do I.
So I’m going to close comments on this and just let it die.
As I said to him in my final email, I’m glad that he’s no longer blocking IE, just because stuff like that is really not in the spirit of the web.
Better luck to this guy in his future endeavours.
Designing for people not browsers. Can we please CLONE you?! And designing for people not browsers goes hand in hand with providing web content for the human visitors you hope to attract, not for Google, not for SEO, etc. That just makes me nuts. Great rant. Was that your first battle of wits with an unarmed man? Shame on you! ;-)
haha, cheers Joni.
That was a long way from my first - and unfortunately wasn’t my last either. They’re just everywhere underfoot.
I used to have more of a passion for it actually, but now I just want them to leave me alone.