All of This Has Happened Before and Will Happen Again

Another awesome post from Adrian Roselli on the perils of pushing for a one-browser (a.k.a. WebKit) world:

Everyone who calls for WebKit in Internet Explorer is exactly the same kind of developer who would have coded to Internet Explorer 15 years ago (and probably happily displayed the best viewed in badge).

If you are that developer, then it will all be your fault when it happens again. When WebKit is no longer the hot engine. When Chrome loses its dominance. When Apple’s market share falls to match the developing world. You will be to blame.

Do you think that won’t happen? Just look to Android browser fragmentation, or WebKit failing to support a standard that Firefox and IE have nailed, or Chrome introducing its own proprietary features (can’t find the link; it’s coming), or failing to use best practices as it tries to carry the next big thing forward, or the complete lack of developer relations from Apple. We’ve had over half a decade of warning signs.

It’s happening again, and every petulant, lazy developer who calls for a WebKit-only world is responsible.