I have to afgree with @Cyberharbalist. My employer dictates what version of IE I use and I have to have it in compatability mode due to some internal applications I must use. If this change is not reversed, I will have to consider leaving SO as I cannot upgrade my work system for valid work reasons. This was a shortsighted change that doesn't reflect how non-IT based companies work. LOts of us work in other business domains.
And what is with the unreadable Capcha stuff today? You need to test that with people who have bifocals for goodness sakes.
Edited to answer comment. No of course they do not let us intall any old software we want. The business world doesn't work that way even if it does in IT only shops.
What bothers me most about this change is that all the stuff that broke is not new, it is stuff I have been able to do all along. Why gratutiously break it without any new functionality? What kind of poor project management is that? We try not to break stuff that works unless we have to make a change. Why aren't you doing the same? And please rememebre that on the other SO sites, eventually the majority of users may not be IT people. Non IT people avopid upgrading as much as possible. What you are doing is throwing away contributors for what seems to be no valid reason except you only want to support the newest.