Mr. Mephisto, sure it's the de facto standard, but the fact remains that almost every *good* web developer despises it for a reason. If people made a habit of going "ho hum, it's the de facto standard so I guess I can't complain," then various places in the world would still be under British rule
Sadly, the people most affected by IE are the ones with the least amount of power to force change.
http://www.stopdesign.com/log/2004/01/26/ie_factor.html