Comment by Mev-Rael on "Bootstrap columns + panels, equal height"

You don't need to support old software which is no more supported by vendors with outdated technologies and security issues. There is only IE11 and if user has IE < 11 you should display a warning and provide the links to modern software or how to upgrade.

Of course, you can waste your time on such customers, but in that case you have to ask much, much more or, better, just find another customer. Your developer's time is very expensive and there is no problem for you to find a job, there is a problem for businesses to find someone who will realize their stupid ideas.

I'm afraid what you are trying to do won't be possible with just CSS and Table layout, so you need either flexbox polyfill or any JS plugin to handle that job.

Thanks for the last 2 lines, but the rest was a bunch of useless text.

This way of thinking can A: hurt the industry, B: hurt the programmer and C: doesn't help the customer. Not all customers can afford the latest and greatest hardware and with it, the latest and greatest OS / Browser. Not all customers are savvy enough to use a browser other then IE Edge, nor do they care or should they care and the customer aside - Windows licensing in a corporate environment can be very expensive. Not all companies are quick to jump on the latest Windows 10.x, nor can they for any number of reasons. Legacy business software can delay OS / browser adoption for years. You (the programmer) build for your target demographic and if that demographic might use IE6, you need to account for that. No customer is worth more then the next and as a CEO / CTO / Sr - you should know this.

Thanks for the understanding @mgiambanco. The client has more than 200.000 employees so it's kinda hard to say they have to upgrade to IE11 to use me. I don't think I'm that unique to be honest.

@emilmoe Same here - http://imgur.com/a/voQM9 - I don't even want to think about how pissed the boss would be if the developers said no to everyone < IE 11 (target = K-8 school teachers)

Why you are not supporting IE6 and Windows 98 then?

Currently and until April 11, 2017 only Windows Vista is the reason you might support < IE11 because IE11 is available only for Windows 7+. support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-li… There is no other reason why user should not have IE11. If he is lazy to upgrade it himself, then you should put a large screen with the link to Microsoft website providing instructions on how to do so or where to get Chrome/Firefox. In case of companies it would be administrator's job to install all the required software.

hurt the industry

Only the ignorance ans passiveness hurts any industry.

hurt the programmer

Allowing users to use unsupported software with bugs and security issues which will never be resolved will hurt business itself and your reputation also. This also would bring more problems and risk into dev team and code itself. So you actually hurting yourself.

doesn't help the customer

If you won't learn to say "NO" and won't force typical users to act, they will NEVER do it themselves. Only by acting you will help customers.

Microsoft not only offered a free upgrade to Windows 10 but forced everyone to do so. This is how you as a developer should act.
There are always alternatives available. Other browsers, other OS.
Believe me, companies, can buy and upgrade many licenses. Moreover I can tell you, they can use another browser. Bad companies and exec managers just want to save money everywhere even on own employees. However, even good companies will not act if you will not provide them all the critical information. It is your responsibility to say this to your boss/customer.
In many cases Microsoft provides discounts or even free licenses and services like startup programs, programs for schools, universities and students, etc. So "I can't have a Windows 10" is not an excuse.

Engineering is 20% of code and 80% of communication. Thankfully Microsoft did a lot of effort here, unfortunately, many small business can't do the same.

So, if it is not about Windows Vista, what is the reason why a specific customer you are talking about is not using IE11 or another browser? What direct answer they provided you?

At least you can use already existed infographics like this one which will explain to key business persons all the risks and that upgrading will actually at the end will be less expensive, the costs for development also will be less expensive (this is of course, if you respect your own time and add a additional fees on the top): abacusnext.com/resources/infographics/risky-busin…

@mevrael By this logic, we should stop building gas cars and only build electric cars, even though the majority of the population can't afford all electric cars. Or stop using copper for our water pipes, even though it has been known to help clean water where Pex has no health benefits at all, but Pex is cheaper and un-licensed plumbers can install it. Or! Let's all believe in God to help us and stop pursuing medical science! Because all of these things (gas cars, copper pipes and... God!) are all old school ideas and should be immediately dropped because it doesn't drive innovation further, fast enough! You build for what the client and or target audience requires. We as programmers move forward, albeit slowly sometimes, but we still must work within the limits of our clients.

@mevrael

Simpel answer: Because the client don't require IE6 and they don't have that, but they have IE9.

If they asked for a IE6 solution and accepted the fact that it's very limited on technology, I would be making that

As @mgiambanco says, this is a job delivered to a client, not a service I build on my own. If I build it on my own I would probably target IE11 with limited support for IE10.

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