BCMS - not good enough

One of the tasks that I perform regularly for the family farm is to update our cattle movement details on the British Cattle Movements Service (BCMS) web site. Although I manage the herd records using my own software (written over a number of years to match the way I work, but never published), I've never got around to automating the process of updating our records on BCMS.

So I have to use the BCMS web site. While it performs its function adequately I've never been that great a fan, as I don't think it treats its user terribly well. At the moment all you have to do to see a classic example of this is visit the BCMS site. When you reach the site using IE7, you will be greeted by red warning text informing you that your browser 'may not be compatible'.

Since the majority of users aren't likely to be that IT literate, it must be quite disconcerting for them, not to mention worrying, as it is an necessary business tool for many. A little further down the page they explain which browsers they've tested with and direct users to a web page that explains how to change their settings so that IE7 will work with the site (without the change it won't, I know from experience).

I am amazed that they are doing this, it is so arrogant to expect users to change their browser settings rather than them spend time and money to update their site. There is no excuse for this really, Microsoft started releasing preview versions of IE7 many months before the final release, warning developers to test their web sites for any incompatibilties. So BCMS can hardly say it took them by surprise.

I agree with the argument that if IE had stuck more to the standards in the first place then the need to test web sites against IE7 wouldn't exist. But I live in the real world where 80% of users use some flavour of Internet Explorer. To make matters worse most of the users of BCMS will be small businesses, they won't have their own dedicated technical support (except for a friend or family member) and will be just the people who will be using IE and will upgrade to IE7 when Windows Update dictates it.

So come on BCMS, pull your finger out, sort your web site out so that it DOES work with IE7 without forcing inexperienced users to make potentially dangerous changes to their web browsers!