Comments on: New Web copyright tool to exclude non-IE users

Copyright Office says it can't ensure that a planned system for preregistering creative works will work with other browsers.

[System Tyrant]

Building on standards

I know this will never happen, but...

If software companies and web developers decided to only support and develop based on a set standard that doesn't favor one company over another then it would force all browser to comply. Like I said though it will never happen. Unfortunatly we live in a world were the intrest of big business overrides the common good. Too many people believe that the only way to make money is to lock people into their software or hardware. Instead of doing what benifits the customer and building better support or even better software package most companies focus on proprietary formats and single use hardware.

A good example of this is Microsoft PDF killer. Instead of Microsoft trying to make a better PDF publisher and reader they will create another proprietary format. They will give away both a reader and publisher locking you into the format then sell you the same free program later. And instead of having a Portable Document Format you will end up with a Microsoft Platform Only Format that will just suck.

[System Tyrant]

Building on standards

I know this will never happen, but...

If software companies and web developers decided to only support and develop based on a set standard that doesn't favor one company over another then it would force all browser to comply. Like I said though it will never happen. Unfortunatly we live in a world were the intrest of big business overrides the common good. Too many people believe that the only way to make money is to lock people into their software or hardware. Instead of doing what benifits the customer and building better support or even better software package most companies focus on proprietary formats and single use hardware.

A good example of this is Microsoft PDF killer. Instead of Microsoft trying to make a better PDF publisher and reader they will create another proprietary format. They will give away both a reader and publisher locking you into the format then sell you the same free program later. And instead of having a Portable Document Format you will end up with a Microsoft Platform Only Format that will just suck.

It has nothing at all to do with cost.

A new law requires this system to exist, and it requires it by a certain date. It's just that simple.

It has nothing at all to do with cost.

A new law requires this system to exist, and it requires it by a certain date. It's just that simple.

[Scroll Master]

ADA and Section 508--It is a Matter of Law

I find it interesting that all the comments previously made here seem to be posted by persons without disabilities. The evidence of this apparent fact is that none seem to be aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Under this act and this regulation, all government sites MUST be accessible to all users. If the Copyright Office fails to meet that requirement for any period of time, they will be in violation of law.

While I think we are all aware that governments often love to make laws that they fail to follow while they impose them on everyone else . . . I also think that government officials should be held to the same strictness of accountability as the officers of U.S. corporations have been in recent years. Not only is the United States a corporation, but all governments must answer to ALL the people whom they serve.

[Scroll Master]

ADA and Section 508--It is a Matter of Law

I find it interesting that all the comments previously made here seem to be posted by persons without disabilities. The evidence of this apparent fact is that none seem to be aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Under this act and this regulation, all government sites MUST be accessible to all users. If the Copyright Office fails to meet that requirement for any period of time, they will be in violation of law.

While I think we are all aware that governments often love to make laws that they fail to follow while they impose them on everyone else . . . I also think that government officials should be held to the same strictness of accountability as the officers of U.S. corporations have been in recent years. Not only is the United States a corporation, but all governments must answer to ALL the people whom they serve.

[Terry Murphy]

It's snowing again

The IE "requirement" is absolutely bogus and that's the first (and
somewhat obvious) clue that the web authoring vendor (in this
case, Siebel Systems) that you hired is a MS ***** in disguise.

Of course, they'll cite statistics that IE has the highest market
share, thus your site will be fine because the majority of web
users will have easy access to your site. This "logic" fails
because, quite simply, the vast majority of web sites on the web
today don't require IE. There is really only one reason to code
specifically for IE, and thats too pad the pockets of MS, not to
insure universal access to your site. The landscape of the web is
exhibit A that it's not the case.

Another obvious clue that your dealing with MS ****** is the cd
\c: too much testing\too expensive
ot enough time\excuses to
provide compliance with browsers other than IE. Testing and
tweaking code is trivial - provided that the project began as
browser independent. However, IE is one of the most non-
compliant browsers present on the web today, but creating code
that works across browsers and platforms isn't mission
impossible. Once again, almost every web site on the net today
bears witness to that fact.

The copyright office shouldn't see itself as an exception to every
other site on the web. I'll leave the world of security risks that
IE-only solutions present to the user for another day.

[Terry Murphy]

It's snowing again

The IE "requirement" is absolutely bogus and that's the first (and
somewhat obvious) clue that the web authoring vendor (in this
case, Siebel Systems) that you hired is a MS ***** in disguise.

Of course, they'll cite statistics that IE has the highest market
share, thus your site will be fine because the majority of web
users will have easy access to your site. This "logic" fails
because, quite simply, the vast majority of web sites on the web
today don't require IE. There is really only one reason to code
specifically for IE, and thats too pad the pockets of MS, not to
insure universal access to your site. The landscape of the web is
exhibit A that it's not the case.

Another obvious clue that your dealing with MS ****** is the cd
\c: too much testing\too expensive
ot enough time\excuses to
provide compliance with browsers other than IE. Testing and
tweaking code is trivial - provided that the project began as
browser independent. However, IE is one of the most non-
compliant browsers present on the web today, but creating code
that works across browsers and platforms isn't mission
impossible. Once again, almost every web site on the net today
bears witness to that fact.

The copyright office shouldn't see itself as an exception to every
other site on the web. I'll leave the world of security risks that
IE-only solutions present to the user for another day.

[cyberpoet]

I wrote in on the Request for Comments

I wrote the decision body (via mail) in their request for
comments and pointed out many of the same issues that several
dissenters on here have pointed out:
(A) Although they may have a developmental lead using only IE
support, IE support is insufficient because it disenfranchises
many platforms that are well supported in the publishing &
materials creation field (As of June '03, Microsoft officially
ceased IE Mac creation and updates; the unix version was even
older).
(B) That effectively they are mandating certain browsers (and
subsequently, certain operating systems if those browsers aren't
readily available in current versions for competing operating
systems), thus making themselves rife for a lawsuit;
(C) That there are many potential solutions, the easiest/simplest
of which are to either:
create a simple-standards-based submission engine, OR
create multiple webpages for submission, each tailored to a
specific platform & browser (with the advice to support at
minimum the core browser for any given platform -- the one
that ships with the OS).

How many you actually bothered to write in on the request for
comments rather than simply complain here? It's your
government...

=-= The CyberPeot

[cyberpoet]

I wrote in on the Request for Comments

I wrote the decision body (via mail) in their request for
comments and pointed out many of the same issues that several
dissenters on here have pointed out:
(A) Although they may have a developmental lead using only IE
support, IE support is insufficient because it disenfranchises
many platforms that are well supported in the publishing &
materials creation field (As of June '03, Microsoft officially
ceased IE Mac creation and updates; the unix version was even
older).
(B) That effectively they are mandating certain browsers (and
subsequently, certain operating systems if those browsers aren't
readily available in current versions for competing operating
systems), thus making themselves rife for a lawsuit;
(C) That there are many potential solutions, the easiest/simplest
of which are to either:
create a simple-standards-based submission engine, OR
create multiple webpages for submission, each tailored to a
specific platform & browser (with the advice to support at
minimum the core browser for any given platform -- the one
that ships with the OS).

How many you actually bothered to write in on the request for
comments rather than simply complain here? It's your
government...

=-= The CyberPeot

It works with Netscape

If the website works with netscape (7.02) then there should be no reason why it would not work with FF since they are both using the same rendering engine (Gecko).

Just an FYI.

It works with Netscape

If the website works with netscape (7.02) then there should be no reason why it would not work with FF since they are both using the same rendering engine (Gecko).

Just an FYI.