[thelist] Netscape 6 loads page twice

[Aylard JA (James)]

Peter-Paul Koch wrote:

> It's partly a question of conservatism: web developers don't change their 
> scripts if it isn't necessary (if browsers continue to support NAME), so 
> browsers can't ignore NAMEs or else the scripts won't work any more.

	...and we must remember that Netscape's decision not to provide
backwards-compatibility for most of Netscape 4.x's proprietary DOM was not
the result of a high-minded crusade for standards-compliance, but due to
time and cost restraints. And this lack of support for Netscape's prior
proprietary features is arguably, IMO, its greatest weakness.
	Microsoft, OTOH, has maintained backwards compatibility for its
proprietary IE 4.x DOM in IE 5/5.5. Yes, there are some changes (primarily
in style sheet implementation) that can alter the way a site renders. But a
site created using the IE 4 DOM will generally function quite well in later
versions of the browser.
	Creating a standards-compliant browser does not require that browser
to no longer support non-compliant features.

James Aylard