Another EU browser ballot bug: now it's not random at all.
Microsoft's EU-satiating browser ballot has suffered a few problems in its brief life. First,
an algorithmic flaw led to uneven distribution of the browsers (a problem that has since been fixed). The design of the ballot left
minority browsers dissatisfied. And earlier this month Opera
described another problem wherein the ballot could be hidden behind an IE window. Another problem has emerged with the Polish version of the site: this time, the ballot doesn't
randomize the browsers at all.
No matter how many times the
Polish ballot is reloaded, the order will always be the same. The cause is, once again, a problem with the scripting used to randomize the selection. Each browser offered in the ballot is represented by a large logo and a short piece of explanatory text. A double quote mark within the explanatory text for one of the browsers is causing a JavaScript error, with the result that the entire scripted randomization is aborted.
