1) A website that doesn't work in browsers (without configuration) is crap
2) Google again shoving that unwanted browser in my face (on top of afs all over the place and the "Upgrade to Chrome" bullshit) is getting out of hand
You might present a workaround to read the website. Downvoters might feel like me and don't give a damn about this content if it doesn't display in a normal, modern browser..
It's almost like companies have a right to push their own products by building things into that ecosystem. Does it also bother you that Apple doesn't develop iMessage for Android?
The web isn't a magical universal standard anymore. Every browser is different and supports different things. If you want to use something that's not supported by your browser but you're not willing to switch, that's not the developer's problem.
>Google again shoving that unwanted browser in my face.
It's almost like companies are allowed to advertise their products. I don't complain about Coca-Cola again shoving that unwanted drink in my face because their vending machines only sell Coke, and because their ads are everywhere.
At some point you're just arguing against Google, and not against the specific product in the post.
The charging cable comparison seems silly. If I click on a link on this site I expect it to work in my (standard, modern, no snowflake configuration) browser. If it doesn't, it's not part of the web for me. You can discuss Apple and Android, cables and connectors all you want.
The comparison with a vending machine was equally flawed, but at least it wasn't a car analogy..
I cannot argue against the product in the post, because the link is inaccessible. The "web components" explanation makes some sense (that explains the why, although I still think that a fallback message should explain that. Say "your browser doesn't support web components" instead of "you need our browser". I still flag it, but would kinda get it).
Companies are allowed to advertise their products. I'm allowed to label their practices as shitty.
Rather than tell Google engineers they can't use cutting edge features that they may have even worked on getting standardized, I'd rather go the route of doing what I can to support Mozilla in implementing these features faster. Right now I'm not sure what that is aside monetary donations and code contributions, but either way it seems like a more sustainable future.
If Google were using non-standard features or blocking the entire page based on UA, I'd agree this would be very annoying. But it certainly isn't, as far as I can tell.
On the other hand, Hangouts deserves all of this scorn. It doesn't work in Firefox in any capacity to this day. Very disappointed about that. That being said, it's the only Google service I use right now that doesn't, among Maps, Docs, Search, Drive, Inbox...