FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is shutting out survivors of Hurricane Katrina who don’t use Internet Explorer (IE). Those Katrina survivors needing to request assistance from FEMA and who use Firefox, Opera, Netscape, or any non-Windows system are, as they say, SOL. Apparently when it comes to relief aid, MSFT is the mark of the chosen.

Those trying to register for aid with a non IE browser or with a non Windows machine get this message on their screen: “In order to use this site, you must have JavaScript Enabled and Internet Explorer version 6. Download it from Microsoft or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to register.”

Now, it’s completely understandable that you may already have your website optimized for a particular browser (well, maybe not completely, but hey, we know that it happens), and that you may not want to make wholesale changes to a website upon which tens if not hundreds of thousands of people in extreme need may be relying to apply for aid. But to completely close out a large group of users - a minority to be sure, but a substantial minority - many of whom have already lost everything they have, and who are relying on your agency for relief…

[Continue reading FEMA to Katrina Survivors: Use IE or Tough Luck]