why is internet explorer 11 lacking behind the other browsers ?!

[a5cent]

Wouldn't there be a chance to really mess something up if they didn't take a measured approach?

The issue is that many parts of HTML5 are not a stable standard. A finalized and stable definition isn't expected for at least another year. Much of what Chrome supports are just preliminary standards, meaning they could change in the future. When that happens, Google is free to say "screw it", and change as much around as they want. Anyone running a website impacted by such a decision is simply forced to pay web developers to spend time updating them. However, that is a rather rare, because the issue is well known and well understood. Most websites don't use such features, but HTML5 test sites are an exception, and those are what make Chrome look good in comparison to IE.

In contrast to Google, MS is not free to willy-nilly change the standards that IE supports. Corporate clients would march on Redmond if MS ever did, because that would force them to spend millions updating their proprietary intranet applications.That is a big extra difficulty that MS must deal with. Hence the compatibility modes.

Many people who don't understand the technology behind the web typically chalk up problems to IE's lesser HTML5 support, which in most cases is simply wrong. Most issues are related to java script, not HTML5.

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

The issue is that many parts of HTML5 are not a stable standard. A finalized and stable definition isn't expected for at least another year. Much of what Chrome supports are just preliminary standards, meaning they could change in the future. When that happens, Google is free to say "screw it", and change as much around as they want. Anyone running a website impacted by such a decision is simply forced to pay web developers to spend time updating them. However, that is a rather rare, because the issue is well known and well understood. Most websites don't use such features, but HTML5 test sites are an exception, and those are what make Chrome look good in comparison to IE.

In contrast to Google, MS is not free to willy-nilly change the standards that IE supports. Corporate clients would march on Redmond if MS ever did, because that would force them to spend millions updating their proprietary intranet applications.That is a big extra difficulty that MS must deal with. Hence the compatibility modes.

Many people who don't understand the technology behind the web typically chalk up problems to IE's lesser HTML5 support, which in most cases is simply wrong. Most issues are related to java script, not HTML5.

It also doesn't help that sites sometimes code to work best with a certain browser. My sister, for example, is unable to use IE because one of the sites she loves works best in "chrome, Safari, or Firefox"

 

[a5cent]

It also doesn't help that sites sometimes code to work best with a certain browser. My sister, for example, is unable to use IE because one of the sites she loves works best in "chrome, Safari, or Firefox"

Yeah, that too, although that is far more common for websites built for mobile devices than for those built for desktops.