Please try Firefox

Occasionally I get told by people that I shouldn’t tell them to use Firefox, that they don’t like Firefox, that they love Internet Explorer and can I please fix their problem without having to use Firefox. And rather than write the answer out repeatedly I’ll write it here.

It has nothing to do with Browse Happy. It has nothing to do with Microsoft. It has nothing to do with Open Source and it’s nothing to do with Windows. Really.

When I get a support request which I believe is a browser issue I will ask the person to try another browser. I ask Firefox users to try IE, Opera users to try IE/Firefox, Firefox users to try Safari, Camino users to try Safari, Safari users to try Firefox/Camino (I know there Camino/Firefox similarity but I’m getting to a point). I will ask anyone to change their browser because it helps me help you.

Person has browser A. There is a problem X. Trying to troubleshoot X will be difficult until I can start to change the situation to see what happens to the problem.

So I ask the person to try browser B.
(i) If X is still a problem then the issue is not the browser.
(ii) If X is not a problem then the issue is related to browser A.

If it is (i) it could be the computer, a firewall setting, anything with the name ‘Norton’ (which is a bad bad thing) but what it is not is the fault of wordpress.com. Two browsers, same problem, same machine and no other support issues means the cause is local. This makes it very hard for me to help but I will try.

If it is (ii) browser A it could be an extension/addon, security setting in the browser, but it may well come down to me not being able to help. I cannot troubleshoot a browser issue either beyond a certain point. Again it shows that it is not the fault of wordpress.com (which is not about apportioning blame elsewhere but about keeping perspective).

Now…. in the ‘not the browser’ situation the solution will be findable – a forum search being one way. In the ‘it is the browser’ situation there is a choice – use the initial browser and have problems or use the suggested browser and have none. Of course this does not stop the user looking for solutions themself. I don’t make that choice, I cannot force someone to make it.

It’s my job to find solutions and I will as far as I can but being asked to change browser is sometimes essential for me to help you.