Only 40% Left!!!

Posted on 31. Jul, 2008 by loswhit in Web/Tech

Picture 4-22
I got this email earlier today…

I want to read your blog. Really, I do. However, I am 50, waaaaay above the average age of your reader. I think.

Please please please ditch the bright green, brother. Can’t read it. Even with my old-lady glasses.

God bless you.

Ragamuffin Reader in Charlotte

This got me thinking about you poor IE web surfers.
A year or so ago 50% of my readers were using Internet Explorer to read RagamuffinSoul.
Now that number has dropped to 10%.
If you are reading this in Internet Explorer then you are probably seeing a grey background and all the links are hard to read in their current lime green color.
Seeing that I am not the web building guru that some of you are I have no idea how to fix this problem in IE except to tell you to SWITCH to Firefox.
It’s better for the environment.
And seriously, I’m trying to fix this problem.

What browser are you using to read this post?
Los

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94 Responses to “Only 40% Left!!!”

  1. Nick 31 July 2008 at 8:39 am #

    The problem is that your stylesheet (http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/wp-content/themes/wp-polaroid/style.css) uses .png images for the background of the center part of the site. IE 5.5+ doesn’t support PNGs. If you change these to GIF, problem solved. Also, I think the newest version of the Polaroid theme has a fix for this, not sure.

    BTW, 71% of the readers on the internet still use some version of IE, I know it sucks and I hate it, but as a web designer, I have to patronize them. Fight the man, download Firefox TODAY!

  2. Kevin 31 July 2008 at 8:39 am #

    Flock http://flock.com/

    No problems…

  3. LorelaiCC aka C.C. Almon 31 July 2008 at 8:42 am #

    Firefox 3.0.1

  4. hr 31 July 2008 at 8:44 am #

    firefox at home, but IE at work :\
    i mean… i don’t read blogs at work…. um…

  5. Loran 31 July 2008 at 8:44 am #

    IE 7.0

  6. elizabeth 31 July 2008 at 8:45 am #

    i have to use ie @ work, i don’t have a choice! but at home i use camino. :)

  7. CJ Mills 31 July 2008 at 8:46 am #

    FF baby!

  8. Lindsay Best 31 July 2008 at 8:48 am #

    I’m like hr…IE @ work…but who reads blogs at work?…not me…I’m WORKING…

    …but I use Google Reader unless I am adding a comment, so I don’t come to the site daily…

  9. Annalise 31 July 2008 at 8:48 am #

    Opera 9.51 :]
    I use Safari sometimes, but your page loads much faster on Opera.

  10. tricia 31 July 2008 at 8:50 am #

    IE…

  11. LeAnn 31 July 2008 at 8:52 am #

    Firefox…I have no idea which version.

  12. boyd Bettis 31 July 2008 at 8:53 am #

    safari via my iPhone
    Firfox via my macbook pro

  13. Heather 31 July 2008 at 8:55 am #

    FIREFOX 3.0.1

  14. ally simpson 31 July 2008 at 8:56 am #

    safari

    in my humble irish opinion, firefox sucks like a giant hoover

  15. JudiFree 31 July 2008 at 8:56 am #

    Your site always looks the same on all browers I use: work: IE7, Home: Safari, Now: FireFox….all the same!

  16. Cindi 31 July 2008 at 8:59 am #

    IE 7

  17. natedavidscott 31 July 2008 at 8:59 am #

    firefox all around. and i love the lime-green

  18. Blake Wingo 31 July 2008 at 9:01 am #

    Firefox most of the time, Safari occasionally.

  19. Christopher 31 July 2008 at 9:04 am #

    Firefox 3.0 and 3.1 Alpha. Safari on the Iphone and I am working on translating your feed to a telegraph so I can dit dot dash. A-Ha! See this is why I keep coming back. I am going to build a telegraph interface for twitter. This will be 10x cooler than my voice to twitter hack.

    Mr. W, you inspire me.

  20. Christopher 31 July 2008 at 9:11 am #

    Oh yeah an IE7 looks fine. Not sure what the issue is but email me if you have any design questions.

    Christopher

  21. Jesse 31 July 2008 at 9:11 am #

    I read in firefox. But, Los, it’s really 41% reading it in IE. (oh, does IE 7 fix the bug?)

  22. amy sanders 31 July 2008 at 9:12 am #

    firefox and safari

  23. Keith 31 July 2008 at 9:13 am #

    Firefox 3.0.1
    How can anybody stand to use IE anymore…
    Oh, wait, I’m typing on a Mac. Doesn’t everybody have a Mac now? :)

  24. Jeff 31 July 2008 at 9:13 am #

    I use Safari and the site looks great!

  25. Mud Puppy 31 July 2008 at 9:20 am #

    I’m a Safari holdout. It’s been treating me well so far…

  26. Ed 31 July 2008 at 9:20 am #

    I just grab the feed with Google reader

  27. Dean 31 July 2008 at 9:25 am #

    IE 7. It looks like you actually have 41.3% of your readers using it. Combined IE4, IE6 & IE7 stats.

  28. dub 31 July 2008 at 9:26 am #

    For those of you who “don’t” read blogs at work and IE is the only browser on your workstation, there is a way to run FireFox without installing it, that is if you can use a USB thumb drive.

    Download the PortableApps Suite at http://www.portableapps.com, which should include Firefox portable. You can launch and run FF from your thumbdrive, and you can easily copy your settings, plugins and extensions from your FF profile on your personal PC.

    Your work network probably uses a proxy server, so you will need the connection info to put into Portable Firefox.

    BTW it is free. And although I am singing the praises of portable apps, I am in no way personally affiliated.

    Peace

  29. FireMom 31 July 2008 at 9:26 am #

    To be honest? I’m using FireFox 3.0.1 and the green is still somewhat hard for me to see in general. I must be older than I thought.

  30. Paul J. 31 July 2008 at 9:32 am #

    Mac users…come to Camino…

  31. Read Scott 31 July 2008 at 9:41 am #

    Fluid SSB

  32. lea ann 31 July 2008 at 9:42 am #

    IE 7 something or other.

    I should switch to firefox at home. if I knew what firefox was, that is.

  33. Steve 31 July 2008 at 9:46 am #

    Firefox on linux and mac; safari on iPhone.

  34. Stephanie K. 31 July 2008 at 9:46 am #

    If I decided to visit the site or comment, then I use firefox, but I’m mostly an RSS feed girl as well.

  35. Jake 31 July 2008 at 9:48 am #

    IE v6.0 at work >:|
    I agree. I hate reading the lime-green over gray on IE.

    Safari on the iPhone

    Firefox on the MBP

  36. Chris Meirose 31 July 2008 at 9:51 am #

    Firefox 3.0.1 I left IE when the first Firefox hit the net and haven’t looked back.

    Big Chris
    http://wasecachurch.org

  37. Blair Andress 31 July 2008 at 9:52 am #

    Safari 3.1.2

  38. James 31 July 2008 at 9:59 am #

    I was about to break the good news to you that you actually have 41.3% of your readership using IE, but I see someone already did that. So I won’t say anything along those lines whatsoever.

    I’m a hybrid user – FF and Safari.

  39. Joe Louthan 31 July 2008 at 10:04 am #

    I can’t get over the fact that you have 30% of your readers still using IE7 and 10% still IE6.

    Why? Seriously? Why?

    Pure madness.

  40. Crystal Renaud 31 July 2008 at 10:10 am #

    Firefox

  41. Darley 31 July 2008 at 10:14 am #

    Bless you! You just saved my squinting eyes:) I just thought it was a Mac thing since we are still old school around here. Soon…very soon! Still leading worship this Sunday? m

  42. Kevin M. 31 July 2008 at 10:18 am #

    Firefox. Made the switch about 6 months ago and loving it! :D

  43. Erica Foster 31 July 2008 at 10:31 am #

    Flock…easy to navigate and subscribe to blogs. I don’t have any problems…I use firefox too sometimes. It’s good too.

  44. nickhoss 31 July 2008 at 10:33 am #

    Fire-the-Fox

  45. Ben 31 July 2008 at 10:34 am #

    Interesting stats. I don’t see Fx 3.x included in the results, and yet several people have mentioned using it. Maybe most Fx 3 users are reading via an RSS reader?

  46. fay 31 July 2008 at 10:39 am #

    IE, cuz I’m at work and can’t download firefox plug-ins when there’s video here. otherwise, firefox/safari at home.

  47. Robert 31 July 2008 at 10:42 am #

    Firefox 3.0.1

  48. Sarah at themommylogues 31 July 2008 at 10:55 am #

    Firefox 2 — mental note — upgrade to 3 today.

  49. Rich S. 31 July 2008 at 10:58 am #

    FireFox 3.0.1 for me. Jumped ship on IE years ago…and I use Thunderbird for my email, too.

  50. tabitha 31 July 2008 at 11:03 am #

    Iceweasel.

  51. chris 31 July 2008 at 11:04 am #

    how come the title now says “only 40%” and like 30 minutes ago it said “only 10%”?

  52. Tim Gabbard 31 July 2008 at 11:12 am #

    Flock, check it.

  53. nooc 31 July 2008 at 11:35 am #

    I just read the feed in Bloglines, which is a whole other level of ugliness, but the green looks fine in my IE7. I found a lot of legibility issues stem more from the monitor/screen rather than the browser. And it does have to do with the age of the eyes sometimes. A change in screen resolution or using the browser’s text size feature might help there.

  54. Reese 31 July 2008 at 11:39 am #

    Firefox 3.0.1 here. Also looks good in Opera!

  55. Amy 31 July 2008 at 11:51 am #

    I’m using eternet explorer. And most people I know use that or linux.

  56. Sully 31 July 2008 at 11:59 am #

    FIREFOX 3.0.1
    It’s the only way to go. And I use to be a hard-core Safari user.

  57. Jared 31 July 2008 at 11:59 am #

    Firefox 3.0.2

  58. Nick 31 July 2008 at 12:05 pm #

    Firefox everywhere!
    Jesus freed me from the burden of IE anything about a year ago and I have not turned back sense. Oh how I love Jesus!

  59. Billy Chia 31 July 2008 at 12:13 pm #

    Internet Explorer 5.0

    Funny enough, I never use this computer to get online so I haven’t been motivated to install a real browser on it. The one day I do get online with this relic I was on twitter and clicked through to your blog.

    Yeah this looks terrible.

    So glad I use Firefox 3 on every other computer I have.

  60. stephen 31 July 2008 at 12:14 pm #

    Safari/Firefox depending on my mood.

  61. Jinx 31 July 2008 at 12:15 pm #

    Firefox…too lazy to check what version.

  62. brian crisman 31 July 2008 at 12:28 pm #

    Safari on my new MacBook Pro :)

  63. Chelsea 31 July 2008 at 12:33 pm #

    IE, but I can read everything just fine.
    Safari on the Mac in the other room.

  64. Stacy 31 July 2008 at 12:41 pm #

    Flock

    I love it!!! Very user friendly.

  65. jill 31 July 2008 at 12:41 pm #

    Safari. I think Firefox has something personal against me.

  66. Blake 31 July 2008 at 12:43 pm #

    Firefox, though occasionally Safari. But either of those or Opera is TONS better than IE.

    Hey, I wondered when you were going to move up to Mint? http://www.haveamint.com As a stats program, it’s TONS better than sitemeter

  67. Brooke 31 July 2008 at 1:03 pm #

    Internet explorer….what is so great about firefox? yes the background is grey and the links are green…is that not what everyone else sees? lol

  68. Amy 31 July 2008 at 1:04 pm #

    safari!!

  69. carie 31 July 2008 at 1:05 pm #

    I use Safari. I see a white background, with lime-greenish titles. I still find them hard to read. ;)

  70. mrsDeb 31 July 2008 at 1:12 pm #

    IE…

  71. Rachel 31 July 2008 at 1:42 pm #

    The Fox that is Fiery.

    [Firefox]

  72. Lesli 31 July 2008 at 2:16 pm #

    Safari…

  73. Christopher 31 July 2008 at 2:19 pm #

    Mr. W.,

    I took a look at your problem and I am emailing you the fix for your IE issue.

    - Christopher

  74. lorijo 31 July 2008 at 3:19 pm #

    firefox baby!

  75. Kristi 31 July 2008 at 4:13 pm #

    Google Reader, unless commenting. Then it’s Firefox 3.0.1.

  76. Brad Metzger 31 July 2008 at 4:27 pm #

    Not gonna change my entire lifestyle just cuz you can’t fix your blog. lol. I done told ya already.

  77. Jason C 31 July 2008 at 5:18 pm #

    You said the IE users had dropped to 10%. That is not exactly right. IE 6 users are 10%, but IE 7 users are over 30%, so basically you have over 40% still using IE in some form. I’m using FF 3 having been on IE 7 for a long time.

  78. Kim @ Forever Daisies 31 July 2008 at 5:37 pm #

    I usually use Firefox, however now and then safari.

  79. Renee Garcia 31 July 2008 at 5:45 pm #

    Internet explorer… and sometimes my iPod.

  80. Vicki S. 31 July 2008 at 6:03 pm #

    Firefox Rocks! Anytime I have to use Explorer I come very close to using curse words.

  81. Ryan 31 July 2008 at 6:33 pm #

    Firefox of course. And on a Mac of course, which somehow makes all the difference.

  82. Katy 31 July 2008 at 6:38 pm #

    Safari Firefox ;) Unless it’s right before work then it’s Mozilla Firefox–silly work hasn’t switched to Macs yet.

  83. Kent Kingery 31 July 2008 at 7:28 pm #

    IE7 on my Windows machines. Firefox 2 on my Macs.

  84. tunz 31 July 2008 at 7:36 pm #

    FF 3.0.1

    I had some issues with Flock, anyone else have problems? Never heard of Camino, may have to check it out. Is that Cuil with you?

  85. Adam 31 July 2008 at 8:01 pm #

    Firefox 2 on my iMac. Works great. Firefox 3 on my work machine (Power Mac) is even snappier.

  86. Anna 31 July 2008 at 8:51 pm #

    I’m still stubbornly hanging onto my IE…

  87. opstyle 31 July 2008 at 9:36 pm #

    safari on my iPod touch…..

  88. Linds 31 July 2008 at 11:01 pm #

    IE

  89. Annie 1 August 2008 at 8:13 am #

    Firefox, and I guess I’m older than I thought, because – although I like the green, it is a bit hard to read sometimes.

  90. Carole Turner 1 August 2008 at 2:55 pm #

    I HATE FireFox!! It doesn’t even look right!

  91. Rick 1 August 2008 at 3:06 pm #

    FF3

  92. Adam 1 August 2008 at 5:53 pm #

    Safari.. and sometimes Firefox..
    depends on my mood.

  93. Simone Widney 1 August 2008 at 7:57 pm #

    Safari

  94. Deemus 4 August 2008 at 1:45 pm #

    Mozilla 5.0

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