YouTube to drop support for IE6

YouTube will soon be dropping support for Internet Explorer 6 as it attempts to move users to a "more modern browser". Google, who owns YouTube, is pushing for users to upgrade to Chrome, Firefox or IE 8. It's no surprise that they are pushing for users to switch to Chrome with two advertisements to download the browser which Google is using to challenge Microsoft's IE 8.

TechCrunch cites that YouTube is trying to follow in Digg's footsteps where it recently expressed interest in dropping support for the legacy browser. "Digg's User Experience Architect Mark Trammell at the time wrote that the site is strongly considering removing essential features like digging and commenting for IE6 users. He explained that while IE6 users make up around 5% of site traffic, it only accounts for 1% of diggs, buries, and comments."

Is the time finally here that developers can ditch the browser and start to move closer to a unified Web 2.0 experience or should they continue to support those who have not or cannot upgrade their browsers?

With two mega-sites like Digg and YouTube pushing to drop support for IE 6 it's only a matter of time before other sites and webmasters jump on board. The ancient browser is part of a time period that represented Microsoft's dominance in the web browser market. As this era ends, so should its support.