98% isn't much
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A 98% success rate is insufficient for basic expectations like web accessibility or safety.
The author argues that 98% reliability is poor for basic expectations, such as restaurants avoiding food poisoning or websites functioning for all users. In web development, 98% browser support still excludes roughly 150 million people globally. The author cites a client where only 70% of visitors supported nested CSS, a feature considered widely supported since 2023. Truly robust engineering means gracefully handling edge cases, not just serving the majority.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split into two camps: those who agree that 98% is inadequate for critical systems (e.g., AI classifiers in cars, enterprise clients on locked-down IE11), and those who argue it's acceptable to force outdated browsers to upgrade. Several point out the cost of supporting edge cases must be weighed against revenue, especially in B2B contexts where legacy browser users bring high-value orders. A minority note that bot traffic may skew browser statistics.