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Now what I'm about to say might all sound like nothing more than very common sense to you but for many people common sense is something that seems to be in very short supply. Many experienced people should have it ... but don't ... and it's something that newbies need to learn and apply ... if they can only last that long.

So that's why I'm about to launch into something that is really just common sense. It needs to be said and, it would seem, it needs to be repeated again and again because it just isn't sinking in to some people.

And what has got me started on this mini-crusade to raise the level of common sense in people who produce all manner of things for the Web? A post over on a blog run by a venture capitalist and some of the mind-blowingly dumb responses he received after making the post.

He wrote about the number of times people sent him an email with a link to a new online product that they were developing and was guaranteed to make squillions ... if only he would invest in it. He would follow the link and find that the site, the gizmo, the product didn't work so he would get back to the people who sent him the email and tell them that the link wasn't working.

On almost every occasion the problem was caused by the fact that whatever the product might have been the development was done in Firefox or maybe even Opera and he was trying to see it in Internet Explorer. Now if you can't see the problem here ... or you want to attribute the problem to the venture capitalist ... then you really only have two choices. You can quietly shut down your computer and go back to flipping burgers because you will never achieve your goals in the real world ... or you can read on and discover how to change from a grasshopper into a real business person.

And just in case you do decide to read on let me tell you right here and right now ... whatever you're building, developing or dreaming about the same principle applies. You simply have to develop it for the lowest common denominator. When it comes to the Web if it's never going to work in Internet Explorer then don't waste your time because it's never going to fly.

It doesn't matter if you think Firefox is the only browser worth using; it doesn't matter if you think Bill Gates and Microsoft are the devil incarnate and it doesn't matter if you have vowed jump off a cliff if you ever use a Microsoft product - the fact is that Internet Explorer is still the browser of choice for those who may want to use your product so if it doesn't work in Internet Explorer then your business is going no where.

Sadly quite a few of those who added their comments to the original post couldn't seem to grasp that concept.

But you may be thinking that this doesn't really apply to you because you're not developing anything, you're just building adult websites. If you do think that then stop and think again. Here in adult the idea of building for the lowest common denominator is more important than ever and it's something that many newbies don't understand.

You must build sites that are clearly visible in Internet Explorer. You must build sites with simple HTML that work regardless of the screen size surfers are using to view your sites. You must build sites that are backwards compatible and aren't built for the latest operating system and wide-screen monitor. You must build sites that are completely user friendly and don't require a degree in rocket science to navigate.

Sure, sites that are built like that may look rather plain, they even seem a little boring to you and they may never look like a work of art to most people but who cares?

If you care then perhaps you're in the wrong industry because in this industry we should be all about making money and a website that's a work of art in this industry is one that converts surfers into paying members. A website that's a work of art in this industry is one that convinces surfers to stop looking for free porn and to fork out some money for a membership with the sponsor you're promoting.

A work of art in this industry is a website that sells regardless of how cruddy it might look and to achieve that you build for the lowest common denominator. You don't look for the praise and adulation of people who might sit in front of their computers and marvel at the intricate way you have woven your code and CSS together.

In this industry you write for the masses and that's the way you make money.