I'm using Opera 9.5 right now and love it!

If I was using IE, how would I be able to see the instructions of how to fix the problem?

My IE 7 has been working fine, and I am NOT downloading firefox because of one bug...sheesh, its not as if firefox doesn't have bugs

I had this issue at work. The most frustrating part is the site obviously did load and you could see it. At least on the gawker sites you could scroll down but could not jump to the full article. Very frustrating!

Geez. I haven't even used Internet Explorer since 2004, except for the rare times an annoying Java app is "locking up" the entirety of Firefox while an applet loads and I need to get stuff done on another website while I'm waiting.

'Use another browser' is not good advice. It's like Sprint telling you to go on top of a hill to get a signal, and no, you can't cancel your contract.

@Hanke: I don't know about that. I think it's the perfect advice. If you only have one browser, it's a great idea to download another one for a back up. And may I suggest Opera 9.5 to those who love to have multiple tabs or pages up at all times.

@Hanke: If you're using IE as your primary browser, than 'Use another browser' is perfectly valid advice. There are no downsides.

@timmus: That's what Opera and Safari are for. Mozilla, Apple and Opera all steal UI ideas from each other anyway, so it's less disturbing than attempting to use IE.

And on behalf of all of the web developers out there, unless you're on a corporate network where this is disabled, upgrade IE to 7. If you can't, because you're using an older version of Windows, try Firefox or Opera. You'll simply get a better, faster browsing experience.

Unfortunately, because of this, I wasn't able to visit Consumerist for 2 days.

I'm a Firefox user, but for the summer I visit my relatives across the country, so I have to borrow their computers. They're used to IE, so I don't want to change anything and I just use it.

This error drove me insane! Glad it's now fixed. :)

What is this browser you speak of? Internet Explorer? But seriously, been using Opera and Firefox interchangeably for about 5 years, although I mostly used Opera until Firefox 3 came out.

I think it's a message for people who still use IE, "You have had ample time to find a better browser. You are no longer allowed to surf the web."

I use Firefox but I decided to investigate the issue a touch. In Windows you can prevent the problem by opening your HOSTS file and adding the line "127.0.0.1 jsb.sitemeter.com"

@B:
I had the Error last night, and with a restart I can see it now.

I hate IE7, but my dad is retarded when it comes to Open Source software, and says it's all a virus and will reformat if I use FF. (Even though this is my computer, that only I use.... :( )

People still use IE? Who whudda thunk.

I keep a copy on my computers just in case I have to get something from a page with IE specific content. It happens a few times a year. Firefox 3 seems to have fixed the java lock up issue.

Some offline feed readers also use IE to display the contents of the webpage in the reader's window. I was personally burned by this because I use FeedDemon.

No big loss though, I just clicked on the "use external browser" button and the pages opened just fine in my Firefox browser.

And this is why I use opera.

Solution:

1. Remove IE from your machine and purge it with fire

2. Download an alternate browser- preferably Firefox, or Opera

3. Now enjoy a REAL internet experience, without the 'banging head into wall' experience! Oh, and your .pngs with transparencies will actually WORK in Firefox...

I recommend keeping 2 different browsers on your system though, with one as a backup. I've found that some stubborn, stupid web designers still refuse to work with cross browser compatibility, and still feebly believe the world all uses IE. It's annoying trying to go to a website that is very important you get through ok, when it refuses to work with your browser... grrrr.

Seriously though, these days the ONLY reason I tolerate Ie on my machine is because I sometimes have an issue with my XP not downloading and installing updates correctly, and i need to go to MS's site to manually do it, and MS snobbishly refuses to allow anything but IE to work on their site. -_-; And for when I need to use a site i wouldn't normally use that isn't cross browser compatible. I loathe just having the thing on my machine, it's a security hazard just existing.

I keep explaining to people, using IE (especially without security programs!) is like having sex without a condom, with someone who you KNOW has like 8 different STDs. It's not smart, you just don't do it. Everyone who i've shown FF to, adores it and switches and never goes back. Though my boyfriend still stubbornly clings to IE, I keep trying to show him the light. At least they fixed the aforementioned java issues with the new FF, and the whole "i'm going to whore your RAM lalala".

Firefox FTW!

Why are none of you up in arms that Consumerist is compromising your security and privacy by using Sitemeter?

/puts on tinfoil hat

People still use IE? What is this, the early nineties?

A metrics firm screws up the experience of something like 80+% of Web browsers -- so it's clearly a problem with the browser. Because no metrics firm is able to give you site statistics without breaking pages in IE. And before two days ago, that particular metrics firm wasn't able to handle stats without breaking pages in IE. An no metrics firm does QA testing on the most popular browser out there. That would be stupid.

Alternative browser users are turning into the new Mac addicts. (Wear your Seamonkey shirt proudly! Camino 4 life, homes!) I've got Firefox 3, and and it hasn't made me thinner or noticeably improved my browsing experience -- except when idiots like Sitemeter frak up some code so that I can't use my default browser.

Why exactly should I be at the mercy of a site statistic tracker, anyway? Tracking doesn't improve my Web experience any.

It makes the programmer in me wonder what the heck they did to the html stream that would yank IE's chain that bad. I assume it injects html/javascript into the stream.

Of course, I'm quite sure Sitemeter is "taking this very seriously."

Ubuntu installs in as a file in Windows and frees you from Microsoft. Don't like it, delete the file. If you need windows just restart in Windows. It has Open Office, Firefox and Evolution E-mail included. For most things it is very easy to use. Its free! It also has many thousands of free songs by independents.

@PunditGuy: Why do I get the feeling that if this was eighty years ago, you'd be grumbling that your crank-started car is superior to those new-fangled ones with a starter, and that they're all cultist fanboys?

Am I the only person who thinks that text looks like absolute CRAP in FireFox? If I switch, it will be to Safari or something similar. FireFox is highly overrated, in my opinion. Especially since their TWO (not one, but TWO) most recent updates make FireBug unusable! By their own admission.

I think all of you are crazy to be honest.
Way to be overly dramatic.

If we are really going to be honest with ourselves, the computer illiterate majority would never even notice the difference between firefox and IE.

And to be honest, the differences aren't anywhere nearly as pronounced as some of you drama queens portray them.

When it comes down to it, at the end of the day, people are just going to use whatever browser they are most comfortable with ... Deal.

From the Consumerist:
LOL, idiots, use a new browser!

In a new "blame the consumer" piece now on the Consumerist, in response to it's inability to deliver content to it's readers they've decided to be "that guy". The blog equivalent of the annoying kid who insists that his Linux build is the only way to compute, and that the OS you're running is ridiculous. The Consumerist offered up today a solution to a problem that one of it's affiliates caused to it's reader base, that solution being to install a new browser or compromise the reader's security to the point where sitemeter.com is listed as a "trusted site" allowing them to serve up who knows what to the end user.

While the Consumerist did offer practical solutions like RSS feeds in addition to the option to use another browser or leave the fence open in, the suggestion that the readers should make an extraordinary effort to get to their content leads me to a one sentence response.

"LOL, idiots, use another metrics-tracking site (or at least temporarily shut their program down until they get their act together [do you guys really call this customer service?])."

Firefox is just a basic browser. It's the add ons that make it so special. Been using Firefox since version 1.xx. I love it.

Make sure to install the best add on ever called AdBlocker and it *will* improve your browsing experience. After using it for a while try going online without it and you'll see the difference.

@spikespeigel: People still use IE? What is this, the early nineties?

Yes, Internet Explorer is still the most-used browser out there right now. Why are you even pretending to act surprised about that?

It is fixed right now! I got the box a few hours ago, but all gone now...I did nothing, but wait out the storm!

@snoop-blog: Snoop, I am going to piggyback off of your post and also give my endorsement of Opera. It is also very customizable. Very worth the download.

And what is sitemeter? Is it a data mining program? It is! That's it, I am emailing the....oh wait! (joking, I could not resist. And I do know what sitemeter is)

I only use Firefox at home so no problems there. But at work, I have to use IE for several work-related applications. But I never open consumerist.com at work because you never know who is watching!

I think "Use another browser" was a useful tip. I use IE6, and I'm not going to change (I hate tabbed browsing), but knowing it was a browser-specific issue let me know the problem wasn't with, say, my Internet connection, saving a lot of troubleshooting.

@Sherryness: have you ever tried opera? www.opera.com I can't stop using it since I installed it. The navigation between tabs is phenomenal and I love the speed dial. Plus I like the mouse options(hold right mouse button down and scroll to the right to go forward and to the left to go back.) there's a lot more shortcuts but you get the idea.

@snoop-blog, @mgy, @Yurei y @spikespeigel: Y'all know some of us are in IT lockdown and can only use IE at work, right? I'd asked about Firefox the first day in the new offices and was rebuffed, so unless anyone has any better suggestions (hides OphCrack LiveCD)...

@snoop-blog: Thanks, I'll try that one before making a big switch.

@drjayphd: Man I love working for a company where I have NO restrictions on the net (can even look at porn on them though I don't....well at least not hardcore porn) and there is NO person in the company even smart enough to look up your history (although I delete mine often).

Anyhow, I would at least try to get IE7, Unless you have that gay administrator lock. If so, I feel for you.

@Sherryness: Its super fast to download and install... and you don't have to make it your primary browser.

You can also put the site meter code just before the closing body tag. That fixed it on most of my sites; I did have to remove it completely from one of my sites, though. I have Google Analytics running on it, too though, so I won't be completely without my stats. Looks ugly to have sitemeter outside of everything all the way to the bottom, but at least you can still get your stats until Site Meter or IE fixes the problem.

@snoop-blog: Groovy - I'll get it after I get back from the X-Files Movie. :) I need to check my Site Meter stats and see how many are using Opera these days...

Stemeter's advice is bogus because using another browser isn't always an option. If, like drjayphd, you work for a corporation where your laptop or pc isn't configured so you can load software, then you're stuck with whatever the IT department configured for you. One reason they do that is because they can't manage the network if they can't control the software their users have.

I use IE for most things, but my IE breaks on Digg and when trying to login here, so I use another browser to post here.

@B: If I was using IE, how would I be able to see the instructions of how to fix the problem?

Not only that, many/most of those who use Infernal Exploder don't even know there's more than one browser.

Back in the mid/late 1990s, a supposed "expert" came to my home to connect internet through the TV cable. The "expert" said, "Where's Infernal Exploder?" I opened Opera 3 and he said, "There are *two* browsers?"

Recall that in the late 1990s, there were as many as 15 browsers that had some market share, yet the alleged "expert" hadn't even heard of Nutscrape or any other.

I wondered wtf was going on!

@P_Smith: Infernal Exploder? Nutscrape!?

ho ho ho ... you're so clever ...

Firefox is my main browser with IE for backup - mainly on Microsoft sites that demand IE for downloads or sign-ups.

Interesting that many are affected by strict corporate polices that do not allow Firefox but do let employees surf & waste time on gawker & other non-work sites. :)

Hasn't anyone figured that the Author's fix is bogus. It fixed itself on my machine. So the problem is something different and someone in the data food chain changed something.

I dl'd FF3 (again) and tried it after running into the IE warning when trying to access The Consumerist and another favorite. And again, I was disappointed in the grainy text, the extra steps to open a new tab, and the killer for me was that McAfee SiteAdvisor (for FF) stopped working. Just too old to keep up with all this stuff that computer gurus foist on us and expect that we should instinctively know without explanation. IE is fine by me.