- Mar
- 03
I just read this over on the IEBlog: Microsoft’s Interoperability Principles and IE8. I can’t say enough how happy this makes me!
After all of the debate and arguing back and forth about what was the right choice for IE8’s standards mode, I had firmly placed myself in the, “This is a good idea but the default state is wrong“, camp. I was almost swayed by the idea that, as a standards savvy developer it is easier for me to write this line of code then the thousands of other devs that wouldn’t get it. I decided that that’s a silly arguement, because it means a) ignoring the idea that Microsoft put themselves in this position in the first place and b) adding extra markup so that otherdevelopers can benefit. I am very sympathetic to Microsoft’s needs to maintain relationships with their business partners. However, since IE6 created the problem primarily, shifting the “fix” to developers seems like a dereliction of responsibility.
So, I am very, very pleased that the IE team has reversed their position on the matter and that IE8 will function out of the box like IE8. The solution seems perfect now: for standards-aware devs, IE8 will have all the features we’ve desperately wanted out of IE and for everyone else, you can opt-out with a single line of code. The idea that Microsoft and the IE team have responded to concerns from the community at large rather then pursuing the interests of their business partners is grand. I think this is a giant step forward for them. Thank you!
