I've just flamed them for not only browser-sniffing, but browser-sniffing with no ability to go ahead and try anyway.
I did break out Firefscked and request a login just to see what they've done. Some genius seems to have decided to have written the mail form submission, page-switching, and a whole bunch of such features best left to the browser in JavaScript.
And then they wonder why they spend six hours pulling their hair out. Sheesh, people, JavaScript cannot be relied upon should not be integral to the behaviour of your site.
they were i) quick to respond and ii) politer than I was inclined to be:
Me: What, exactly, compels you not only to browser-sniff, but to be so obnoxious as to block any browser which you don't recognise as "supported" with no chance of just trying anyway? Is your data validation so frail that browsers not of your approved set may intefere with your results?
Had you actually let Opera users try to access the page, one of them might have been able to spot the problem. Had you had not been so eager to overuse client-side scripting for simple forms, you may not have spent six hours getting frustrated.
Another Irritated Opera User
Them: Hi Phillip,
The survey requires the use of some Javascript functionality which is supported in about 99% of the browsers out there, and as I said I really tried to make Opera work. It's not an issue that an Opera user could spot, it's something to do with the internals of the way they implement the XMLHTTPRequest function. I have a workaround, but that requires me to completely re-engineering my javascript routines.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and in the future I probably won't use Ajax technology for the survey. It was an opportunity to attempt a novel survey approach online, and I didn't expect the Opera issues that I encountered.
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timeasmymeasure
*growl* MIT no-likey Opera < 8
Date: 2005-06-27 09:28 am (UTC)Hmmm.
Date: 2005-06-27 02:04 pm (UTC)Or >= 8.0.
Date: 2005-06-27 10:15 pm (UTC)I did break out Firefscked and request a login just to see what they've done. Some genius seems to have decided to have written the mail form submission, page-switching, and a whole bunch of such features best left to the browser in JavaScript.
And then they wonder why they spend six hours pulling their hair out. Sheesh, people, JavaScript cannot be relied upon should not be integral to the behaviour of your site.
Well, I'll grant them this:
Date: 2005-06-27 10:42 pm (UTC)Me:
What, exactly, compels you not only to browser-sniff, but to be so obnoxious as to block any browser which you don't recognise as "supported" with no chance of just trying anyway? Is your data validation so frail that browsers not of your approved set may intefere with your results?
Had you actually let Opera users try to access the page, one of them might have been able to spot the problem. Had you had not been so eager to overuse client-side scripting for simple forms, you may not have spent six hours getting frustrated.
Another Irritated Opera User
Them:
Hi Phillip,
The survey requires the use of some Javascript functionality which is supported in about 99% of the browsers out there, and as I said I really tried to make Opera work. It's not an issue that an Opera user could spot, it's something to do with the internals of the way they implement the XMLHTTPRequest function. I have a workaround, but that requires me to completely re-engineering my javascript routines.
I apologize for the inconvenience, and in the future I probably won't use Ajax technology for the survey. It was an opportunity to attempt a novel survey approach online, and I didn't expect the Opera issues that I encountered.
humbly yours,
cameron marlow
mit media laboratory
Wow ..
Date: 2005-06-28 07:46 am (UTC)