IE7b2 Testing: day 3. Pitchforks and torches.

The March 20 release was installed this morning. IE7 doesn't pass any tests it failed in the previous blog on this subject. It also doesn't change its behavior with any of the following DTDs, on either IIS or Apache servers:

• HTML 4.01 Loose
• HTML 4.01 Strict
• XHTML 1.0 Transitional
• XHTML 1.0 Strict
• XHTML 1.1

More disappointing is the official remark from Microsoft that this second version of IE7b2 represents the final renderer for the shipping version of IE7.

Paul Thurrott was right the first time: it's time to start badging websites again if CSS2 is to stake its claim as a standard, and let IE users deal with dodgy looking websites the way Netscape 4 users had to. Otherwise, Microsoft won't have an incentive to release a 7.5 update the way they did with 5.5.

• Use QUOTE.
• Use OBJECT to encapsulate non-text content and cascade it down to progressively less rich content.
• Use BUTTON on forms the way it was meant to be used and put a note on the form linking to why it doesn't work in IE with links to MSDN's IE blogs anchored to the comment section.

If being a big fucking nuisance is the only method left to get Microsoft to pay attention to standards, be one.