FEMA Disaster Site IE Only
I can't say this news surprises me, but developers hang on to your tits. FEMA has released a registration site for disaster victims to locate and communicate with loved ones who may be missing and (being the geniuses they are) they have released a site that is only compatible with IE on Windows. The compatibility issue is because of some Javascript only IE can run that's used on the site. They also claim the same functions could have been written to support all browsers, but were not.
FEMA says the site was originally an in-house tool and only released to the public to serve this purpose. Okay, that's a fair statement, but here's a question... "Why in the fuck are you just now creating a website for this purpose period?" Remember Andrew & 9-11? Guys... you're the agency for federal emergencies, you have to think ahead. We can't apply bandages to every wound and expect to stop getting cut so deep.
This bit of news infuriates me on two levels... first of all - in today's online environment you should NEVER have a site that is IE only. Sorry, it's just moronic. Argue the point all you want, but limiting your audience when there's no need is not smart. And second, this just goes to illuminate the issues FEMA is having in general on a more specific scale.
I'm not saying it's all FEMA's fault. I think the ultimate blame rests on George Bush's shoulders. He weakened the agency and their ability to respond when he wrapped it up with Homeland Security. Now we have the head of Homeland Security doing more of the coordination than the previous heads of FEMA. At least this is what news organizations have been reporting as a possible cause for the delays in response.
I just hope people don't merely pay the issue lip service as I'm doing. It's time we held people accountable!
Here's the original story from ArsTechnica.