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Sometimes I visit a website with Chrome and get a message that I need to use one of the supported browsers to access the site. It really pisses me off (latest one: http://www.retailroadshow.com).

Anyone knows a link that explains why it is bad and what is the correct way to handle those things? I want to send it to them ...

Thanks

Nathan H
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  • That site is abysmal. Won't work in Opera either. I'm pissed off too. – TRiG Jun 22 '10 at 16:53
  • But I want to make the web a better place :) – Nathan H Jun 22 '10 at 17:05
  • That's not (just) browser sniffing. Browser sniffing can be done well, and lots of sites deliver degraded content to browsers which are older or don't support desired features. What that site is doing is outright rejecting browsers which aren't on the whitelist. – Ken Jun 22 '10 at 17:07
  • If you want to make the web a better place, help enforce standards. Then we wouldn't need any browser specific handling crap. As you can see this page doesn't even work, I have Firefox 3.0 and it says I need Firefox 1 or higher to enter... – L̲̳o̲̳̳n̲̳̳g̲̳̳p̲̳o̲̳̳k̲̳̳e̲̳̳ Jun 22 '10 at 17:07
  • I sent them this link (to this stackoverflow question). – Nathan H Jun 22 '10 at 17:13

5 Answers5

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This looks like a duplicate question to the following:

Browser detection versus feature detection

There are arguments for edge cases where browser detection is appropriate, generally when used for internal applications where the app is built around a particular browser, or when feature detection is difficult or the browser implements the feature incorrectly.

One of the links present in the question above points to Mozilla's developer site, giving some cases for browser detection, pitfalls to avoid, and tips for doing it correctly.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Browser_Detection_and_Cross_Browser_Support

Community
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Robert Hui
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Browser Detection: Necessary or Negligent?

Discusses "feature testing" versus "browser sniffing".

Marcus Adams
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This has some good case studies on the cons of browser sniffing, in the context of Javascript.

http://www.quirksmode.org/js/support.html

chimerical
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I think that browser sniffing is fine when it enforces you not to use too old browsers (especially IE6). Someone has to enforce that so that internet can move forward. This particular side's check is extremely stupid and outdated, just take a look what they suggest:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
  • Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or higher
  • Netscape Browser 7.0 or higher
  • Safari 1.2 or higher for Macintosh

And the must for browser check is ability to use site as is.

Just do not use their services if they are unable to respect potential clients.

Andrey
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  • I like how they have Netscape in there. Netscape is more reliable than Chrome and Opera? But still, I'd like to inform them so that they learn. Make the web more standard. – Nathan H Jun 22 '10 at 17:06
  • @nute list is delirious. IE 5.5 very funny. Netscape is not longer supported, no one uses FF 1.0. – Andrey Jun 22 '10 at 17:10
  • This is the difference between white lists and black lists. – Marcus Adams Jun 22 '10 at 17:22
  • you didn't answer why browser sniffing is a better idea then feature sniffing. which it isn't. – Matt Briggs Jun 22 '10 at 17:34
  • @Matt Briggs not all features can be sniffed, and code will eventually get bloated with checks. i answered why browsing sniffing is fine, disagreeing with somebody's opinion is strange reason for downvoting. – Andrey Jun 22 '10 at 17:51
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Here's a good example. Basically the example is about a newer version of the browser fixing the issue that required browser specific processing. For this reason it is better to determine if the bug is going to happen regardless of which browser is used rather than do your specific processing based on the browser - “detect the bug, not the browser”.

rosscj2533
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