[A] say he’s got IE5, tell him to take a jump because he needs to upgrade. (I’ve done that, but if there’s another answer that’s easy I’d like to do that too – he’s not alone)
That seems a little arrogant.
[B] just let him lump it and use the CTRL-Wheel to increase the font size
That's an option, but why not attempt to fix the problem?
[C] change the style sheets to accommodate IE5 users.
Bingo.
I'd just include a separate style sheet specifically for IE5 users using an IE conditional comment (search google), which fixes the problem -- however you first need to determine what the problem is...
So what’s your suggestions about how I can handle this? I’m not against telling him ‘tough – upgrade your browser!’ but if there’s a fix that’s fairly easy I’d like to consider that.
I just logged in with IE 5, and whilst the font is *small*, it's not *tiny* FOR ME. So, I've got no real idea why the fonts are small for him:
1. he may have his font size set to small
2. he may have poor eye sight, or a bizarre resolution, or a bad screen, or left his glasses on the top of his head
3. he may have some other exclusive problem that is making the text hard to read (browser setting, OS setting, beta version, etc)
I'd start by checking out his browser's font size (eg View > Text Size > Medium), pointing out that he can increase/decrease it there to customise the browser to suit his needs. Try and find out why text is so small in his situation, and perhaps even ask for a screen grab.
If that doesn't work out, offer some alternate style sheet tests with different font settings, seeing what he prefers. If it's something that could work for all users, or all IE5 users (using a conditional comment again), then implement it and you're done.
If that doesn't work out, *then* consider telling him where to go -- the key is to make sure it's just him, not a whole bunch of IE5 users, before dismissing it as an anomaly.
Obviously getting the HTML and CSS valid might fix the problem all by itself.
--- Justin French http://indent.com.au
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