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List:       kfm-devel
Subject:    Re: RFC:UserAgent string in kio_http
From:       Navindra Umanee <navindra () cs ! mcgill ! ca>
Date:       2000-07-24 19:57:48
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Richard Moore <rich@ipso-facto.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> > Go, say to http://www.hotmail.com/ and click on new user.  Or go to
> > http://www.granroth.org/ and see how the behaviour changes depending
> > on the User-Agent string.  There are many sites like this.  I can't
> > compile a full list right now, sorry.
> 
> I have written sites that do this. It is necessary at times because
> features can be incompatible between IE and Netscape in ways that
> you cannot conceal with Javascript (eg. fold away side bar frames
> because netscape's javascript can't access the frameset properly).
> In my own code if your browser does not match one of the known user
> agents then you get a more restricted version of the site.

This makes sense.  Additionally, there are some sites/servers that
behave differently depending on whether you have a User-Agent string
such as:

Konqueror/1.92 Beta >= 20000720    (the current Konqueror default)

Or:

Mozilla 4.0 (compatible; Konqueror/1.92 Beta >= 20000720; blah; blah; blah)

Hotmail, for example, accepts the second string at face value as
claiming Mozilla level 4.0 compatibility, but other sites such as the
ones you've written can still accommodate different browsers.

Cheers,
Navin.

PS As you know, IE 5.01 uses the following User-Agent string:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows 95)

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