molly.com
Monday 3 March 2008
Celebrate, C’mon! IE8 Standards Mode To Be Default
By now you’ve likely read about the big news regarding Microsoft’s commitment to a more interoperable Web, starting with the very good news that standards mode in IE8 will now ship as default.
I’m off to MIX08 tomorrow, and will be attending the keynotes as well as developer discussions on IE8 and additional events surrounding Microsoft’s agenda moving forward. I’ll post more as I’m able.
In the meantime, I just want to shout out a thanks for all the hard work it took this year to keep the IE8 conversation open and alive. We’ve been through some bumpy times, and I for one know that people on the inside of Microsoft faced an enormous amount of pressure in trying to keep that conversation in the public eye.
To all who worked so very hard from both the inside and outside, I toast your dedication, your willingness to challenge what would otherwise be the status quo, and I think it’s really worth taking a celebratory moment to realize that at least for now, the community voice can, and does, truly make a difference.
Filed under: announcement, browsers, community, conferences, microsoft, policies, professional, society, software, standards, w3c, web design and development
Posted by: Molly | 22:13 | Comments (45)
Amen.
The celebration in order here reminds me of that episode in ‘The Simpsons’ (series 5 maybe) where Al Gore decides to celebrate good times by playing “Celebrate Good Times” (KC & The Sunshine Band maybe?) and he remarks (dead-pan)…
I will!
To the freaks/designers and geeks/developers of the web. Rejoice!
(I know I will!)
W00t!!!! This is a good day for web geeks!
I’m excited to hear more about IE8 at MIX.
See you there Molly.
Great news, Molly. I think this is truely a good day for web standardistas and the principles we hold true and dear.
I am also heartened by Microsoft’s rationale in the announcement. Interoperability. I, for one, do hold high hopes for the world of IE8.
Excellent news.
[...] Official anouncment and some people’s reactions. [...]
[...] I picked up the news via Molly Holzschlag’s blog, by the way, as she’s heavily associated over the last few years with the IE team so she’s really the horse’s mouth on this subject for news breaks. [...]
That news was a great way to start the week! Things are looking up!
Now see if you can’t pry from the team some more details about new/updated browser features, eh?
This is absolutely fantastic news. Microsoft deserves some praise for at least being brave enough to about-face on an important issue.
[...] IE8 Standards Mode To Be Default [...]
This is great news, unbelievably great news. However, the following line in the statement intrigues me:
“While we do not believe any current legal requirements would dictate which rendering mode a browser must use, this step clearly removes this question as a potential legal and regulatory issue.”
Is it the act of community uproar, or the some overseen legal issue that forced the change? Or is this a get of jail quick card should the decision be reversed again before release? It’s just that this line sticks out like a soar thumb for me, can you throw any light upon this?
YAY!!! FAB NEWS….
no doubt it’s a big thanks to people akin to your spirit and your lovely self – to keep on pushing for the better solution 
Thanks, Molly
(hope Paul’s worries won’t become true…?!)
YIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!
Web community : let’s celebrate, it’s party time !
This really is good news; many thanks to you, Molly, and the other standardistas who have been working with Microsoft and the IE Team to get this right – even if it took them a while to get there
Does your blog support dancing bananas? Just in case… :banana:
Excellent, and a heartfelt “well done” to all.
Thank you for your efforts.
See you this weekend!
Result!
Well done Microsoft for coming down on the side of standards. For once, I salute you. And to those who came together en-masse in support of standards…… YEE HA!
Kanpai (Cheers) for Microsoft, IE Team and web standards!!!
Molly,
Much thanks to you for your tireless effort advocating standards from the “inside” of the Microsoft Machine. I have no doubt it has taken a lot of your energy.
“We’ve decided that IE8 will, by default, interpret web content in the most standards compliant way it can. This decision is a change from what we’ve posted previously. ”
This really is good news for the web!
Outstanding! Can’t wait to give it a whirl.
@Paul Lloyd — Microsoft’s not the one who made standards support into a legal issue, that was Opera.
shame they just have to apparently hide behind this mythical new “interoperability principles” document, rather than coming right out and admitting that they didn’t expect such a strong and vocal backlash from the community…
[...] Here, have some links, just in case you don’t believe me and haven’t heard it from someone else. Molly E. Holzschlag L. Jeffrey Zeldman IEBlog PressPass [...]
@patrick — there’s nothing mythical about the 3 billion dollars in fines from the EU. Bet that had more to do with it than the “community backlash.”
Good news.
Now how about some word on whether they are going to support SVG or not.
Why be so secretive?
I’m still stunned. Part of me expects to turn around and have another post on the blog yelling “HAHAHAHAH! Fooled you!”
But seriously, it’s an awesome win for standards. The version switch is still contrary to perfection, but defaulting to standards makes it just dandy in the real world. Only those sites that actually break need the fix, which is easy to implement. “There art thou happy…”
Am I the only one worrying that people won’t be using IE8 due to websites looking broken in it? What good is a new version to us then, if people are still using the old one?
güselll
This the best news of the year.
Congratulations, this is a very big boon to web standards.
Now, why did they have to introduce XDR ;_;
This is defenitely a good news. If its work like other browser hey we don’t have to write all hacks.
[...] Microsoft stelde de eerste beta van IE8 ter beschikking, er is vooral veel te doen over de nieuwe “rendering modes” (a.k.a. version targeting). [...]
[...] Official anouncment and some people’s reactions. [...]
More Service please
great news molly, thanks..
ok. really and nice:)
TNX Yahoo
Congratulations, is good for the web.
Hi!,
thanks
thanks
thank you