Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is the browser equivalent of that creepy uncle at your family reunion—you know, the one that smells of mothballs and feet? It's old, grumpy, slow, and takes up space that might be otherwise occupied by a good browser. It refuses to play nice with current web standards, and wastes the time and money of those who try to make the web a cool and useful place. Worst of all, it is denying you, the user, the ability to experience the web the way its designers and developers intended.

You see, IE6 hates you. It doesn't want you to see Facebook the way you're supposed to. It doesn't want you to use some of Google's niftier features, or access MobileMe. It doesn't really care if it renders the pages you visit correctly, either. Also, it's not overly concerned about your system's security. "Bah!" it scoffs, "that's what all that antivirus software is for!" In fact, IE6 would be perfectly happy if you just jumped in your wayback machine and regressed to Web 1.0, when it was...the browser equivalent of that creepy, old uncle.

IE6 has no love for you, so why are you so attached to it? I beg of you, please, in the name of all that is good and standards-compliant, please upgrade. Leave that fossil of a browser behind and do your part to make the world, and the web, a better place.

Your path to a healthier, happier web starts here:

Firefox

Safari

Google Chrome

Or, if you must use a Microsoft product, try:

Internet Explorer 8

And remember, every time you use IE6, God kills a kitten.

—Tom