The US Copyright office wants only IE. submissions
 

The US Copyright office is proposing to allow only Microsoft IE. submissions. It is requesting comments about the proposal. This is the link to see the entire proposal.

http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr44878.html

Perhaps if there are enough comments, they will rescind the proposal.

not only will firefox users complain, but mac users too...

umm... the british tax office had some similar stupid idea- they got enough complaints to change it...

hope it doesn't go through.

titanium_geek

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is only saying that if there is interest in support for other browsers, they will do it at a later date.

I sent them a message. I posted the message on my blog, so you can copy it and modify it if you want to send them a message too. You can find my message here: http://nsk.wikinerds.org/blog/?p=207

I appreciate the situation of a government employee who's going to be trying to make-deadline, but I also agree that the essential purpose of this legislation could be compromised by a web-site that was unable to reliably support "other" browsers. The site, when launched, should not be so browser-specific. If more manpower needs to be added to the project, then that should be done.

Copyright Office - IE for Now - More Later??
 

When I got my copyright listserve info on this I remember it listed IE as the only browser now approved but did indicate that later they would accept others. While I have to use IE at work I'm pretty sure they are going to provide for Firefox at a later date.

But there is no planned support for Mac's Safari?

"[Gary Mullins] My 90-year old mother sat out Katrina in her brother's home next door in Diamondhead, MS, about eight miles from the Mississippi coast where the hurricane's eye hit. They survived without injury but with massive destruction to their homes, and my mother has lost most of her possesions. I brought her to my home in California yesterday and this morning went to the FEMA website to register to start the assistance process. To my dismay, our Federal emergency agency requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, and only IE 6, to use the website for disaster assistance. I don't want to be political about this, but this smacks of a serious leadership failure that the use of the Internet is reserved for only the Windows community."
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/index.php?p=414

Well, to me it simply points out that programmers .. no matter what deadlines they face .. cannot be quite so technology-specific, especially when dealing with Government issues. Any web-site that requires IE, or even requires Java/JavaScript, or any plugin to serve its essential purpose is, IMHO, mis-designed. And when the service performed by that site is essential, as so many government sites are in one way or another, that can have serious consequences. It becomes even more than "you're turning away customers."

Of course, it also means that these sites will have a very short "shelf life." Technology changes all the time. We'd like for a new site to be operational for at least ten years. If that means it's not quite so whiz-bang, then so be it. The guv'mint can afford to look a little stodgey. :)