14 DAY TRIAL // Internet Explorer 7, and other versions of Internet Explorer for that matter have been completely banned from a web domain. Users navigating via the Microsoft browser will find that they are unable to access the content of the website. However, this is not an accident. And it is certainly not a developer who failed to optimize the site for IE. This is instead an example of a premeditated action.
When accessing "http://www.provocation.net" with IE, users are redirected to a secondary page that informs them of the restrictions the website has in place for Internet Explorer. "You were landed on this page because you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer. Nothing wrong with that, really, except that this particular browser is not welcome on this particular server. Webmaster's whim, if you want the easy explanation. The more complex explanation has to do with Microsoft's monopolistic ambitions and the simple measures that people like you and I can take against the arrogant rhino from Redmond," reads a fragment of the message authored by "the webmaster".
The webmaster does not provide any further motivation for this decision, outside of the fact that Microsoft should apparently learn the lesson and change its monopolistic ways. However, all other browsers are welcomed to the website. Users are pointed to Firefox, Opera and Netscape as the browsers of choice that will allow them to access the site. Additionally, the message also links to an old article from 2003 which claims that IE is full of vulnerabilities, being an insecure solution. I did visit the website with Firefox, since I use both IE7 and Firefox 2.0 and I have provided a screenshot towards the bottom. It's not worth it, trust me!
"If the information you were trying to access is worth your trouble, you can install Mozilla or Firefox, Opera, Netscape, or any other browser and then come back. If, on the other hand, you feel that's too much hassle, then obviously you can live just as happily without the information you were trying to access. In that case, off you go to the next site. This approach is known as "Microsoft manners" and works very well, as Microsoft itself is proving," the webmaster added.
