My buddy Noah is a front-end web developer and pretty much a rock star at it. Any web developer will tell you that Internet Explorer 6 is the bane of their existence; that its quirks seek to taunt your sanity, even your living soul, right out of your body. The blogosphere is rife with arguments for and against supporting the old hag of a browser.
The basic problem with IE6 is it’s nearly impossible to do all the sexy stuff you can with every other browser and we all know how hard it is to kneel before the lowest common denominator. It’s a humility that takes real cojones to muster.
Here are links to two of Noah’s posts about IE6. Short reads and well worth it. If you’re into web development you’ll thank yourself for adding the feed to your reader.
Web development is very much like audio engineering for church. I love both for the same reasons. There is a fine balance to strike between art and usability. And, most importantly, your target audience determines this balance. If your target audience includes folks using ten-year-old white boxes or users on networks where admins have kept IE6 for security reasons then you have to support it. Great developers agree it’s used enough in general that it shouldn’t be ignored at all.
Talking with Noah last week after rehearsal I dropped the words, “They are my IE6.” Whom, you ask? The congregation. Selfish thing to say, I know. Thing is, I’ve had a taste of running sound for a few awesome concerts. I’ve gotten to drive some big A rigs at festivals for many thousands of people. There’s absolutely nothing like it. Running sound at a church certainly is nothing like it. Ever feel like you’ve been handed an 8″ by 11″ piece of paper and some watercolors with which to create your masterpieces. The drama of the ego is unbearable sometimes, isn’t it?
The question of “target audience” is the Mexican jumping bean in my noggin lately. A couple years ago our pastor told us to reach younger in attraction with our production. I took it as liberty to crank things up to where it sounded the best we’ve ever had it IMO. It’s ok if your target audience isn’t necessarily the audience you have as long as everyone’s on board with it. I know of an aging church in San Francisco that hired a younger pastor with the intention of targeting a younger generation. I respect that.
After a couple years of this downward reach I scan the auditorium, as I always do during worship, and the crowd still looks pretty much the same. The complaints are the same. The compliments are the same. The volume has come down to lower than ever before. On rare Sundays we’ll peak only at 89dB-A but most of the time at 91 or so. Granted, it’s compressed so the average volume hasn’t dropped as far.
Bottom line. People coming to church in middle-class suburbia don’t expect a concert experience and some (if not most) honestly just don’t want it.
In his blog Noah inspires, “I’m not going to sit on my ass and let a sad browser defeat me. I’m going to make my work look good in IE6 for as long as I need to because it’s my job.” That’s what makes a real rock star in this business – deriving your satisfaction from kicking tail at creating something satisfying to others if not yourself.
I’ve said before that I preach to myself a lot. I need it. Here goes:
As church FOH engineers, our greatest challenge is to find where our best sound and the most acceptable volume level intersect. At times the two seem planets apart. It is a Jedi art form, no doubt, but remember, just about anyone can make it sound great when it’s loud. Making it sound great within limitations is as hard as designing an elegant site for IE6.
Rock and roll wisdom advises, “If you can’t be with the one you love, then love the one you’re with.” Makes sense to me.
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