A Blog About Making Culture
And Jeffrey said, "To Hell"
February 17, 2005
Four years ago, Jeffrey Zeldman said, "To Hell With Bad Browsers" and ended up changing the web. That's damned impressive.
I'd never really been a web geek before 1999 or so, and I started by reading the specs, so I actually only had one structural table and did all my styling with CSS for as long as I've had my blog. But I didn't get just how dramatic an impact the act of drawing a line in the sand would be. That article is the reason that Microsoft's homepage almost validates today, and that it's not even newsworthy when, say, McAfee launches a standards-compliant website.
It's a dramatic testament to the impact that a single person with an articulate voice, a passion for the subject, and a lot of patience can have on a discipline. Even better, Zeldman worked with many of the other leading lights of the time, who influenced the work, helped refine techniques, and collaborated with an amazing lack of contention. And today, it's made my job, and the jobs of nearly everyone I work with, a million times simpler, faster, and more satisfying.
Netscape 4, you are not missed.
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Four years ago,: Zeldman published his seminal article To Hell With Bad Browsers on A List Apart. Yesterday, Anil Dash wrote a nice tribute to the article and its effects on the web world.... read more »How Now, Brownpau?
Four Years Since: An anniversary reminder from Anil Dash: it has been four years since Zeldman said "To Hell With Bad Browsers." It was around then that we... read more »kevin rose dot com
Anil Dash: And Jeffrey said, "To Hell": Link: Anil Dash: And Jeffrey said, "To Hell". read more »nuances
time flies: det har gått fyra år sedan Jeffery Zeldman skrev "To Hell With bad Browsers" på A List Apart, en artikel som satte en hel del hjul i rullning. läs mer om hur det påverkat webbens utveckling hos Anil Dash.... read more »MMM
I totally agree with you. Thumbs up for the great Jeffrey Zeldman :)
Anyway, sometimes I do miss Netscape 4.7 especially when the site is being tested with the horrible Netscape 6.
Matthew
Amen!
adam
and I now get to go home early sometimes too!
adam
and I now get to go home early sometimes too!
porneL
Isn’t it the right time to say the same thing about IE6 (and most likely IE7)?
mayu
We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?
donnie j 
Here here, now how about, “TO HELL WITH ADS ON BLOGS!”
tom sherman
Now only if Zeldman could learn the simple lesson of separating his code commentary from his politics. I know that’s asking for too much maturity.
Anil Dash
one could make the (very strong) argument that you should separate his code from his politics, given that he’s gifting the web with so much of his efforts for free.
to extend one of jeffrey’s analogies, it’s like going to dinner at your friend’s house, accepting his food, and then telling him to shut up during dinner because you don’t like his politics.
tom sherman
I have. I don’t read him anymore.
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