SE's and PHP - if IE show this HTML, if else show this

is this cloaking? google stinks!

[skattabrain]

if i have a smart index page that shows code A for IE and code B for everything else, looks like Google thinks this is cloaking and therefore I am up to no good and will be banned.

is this true?

there is no redirecting here, show code A if IE, code B for everthing else.

anyone using this and getting listed well in Google?

[jatar_k]

We would call that browser sniffing or user agent delivery.

Lots of people use these techniques and there is a legitimate need for such practice. As far as the "is this cloaking" ethics conversation goes, have a read through this thread and you will understand the general murkiness of such conversations.

Cloaking gone Mainstream [webmasterworld.com]

[skattabrain]

i'll check this out tonight

but i agree

murky is the word

cause i've been searching and searching, other forums can't help me either.

basically, i have a know it will work, i just don't want to see it get blacklisted 3 months later cause people who don't understand the powers of server side scripting... or assume it's all used to sneek you into a porn site... complain to google.

but, if it does work as smooth as it seems it would, seems like a tool that could be used for evil webmaster tricks ( ha ha ) just as quickly as it could help the ethical webmaster. 0;]

which brings me to this question - does googlebot cloak itself as mozilla to verify the data is ok?

i'll check out the post, thanks!