YouTube joins the movement to phase out Internet Explorer 6

One of the cool things about SuperPreview (the browser testing application that comes packaged with the new Microsoft Expression Web 3) is that it lets you check any site against older browsers. So when I have a couple of minutes to spare I test out well known sites to see if they comply with web standards and if they still support Internet Explorer 6.

Big was my surprise this morning when I ran YouTube in IE6 mode: At the top of the page they’ve now added a big blue box warning visitors using Internet Explorer 6:

We will be phasing out support for your browser soon. Please upgrade to one of these more modern browsers.

The warning is followed with direct links to download Firefox 3.5, Internet Explorer 8 and (of course) Google Chrome. (On a related note, as a designer you should have all these browsers installed as well as Opera and Safari.)

I’m glad to see that big American players are now getting on board with the movement to phase out Internet Explorer 6 which so far has had most of its success in Europe. And with the support of a player as big as YouTube I can see a time in the not-t00-distant future when we can stop caring about IE6 and get on with our lives.