VerizonWireless.com also hates baby linux (updated)

I'm not going to live my life trying to persuade website owners to let me in. This will be my last I expect. Still I don't understand how they can get away with this. They can't keep me out of a night club if I'm black. They can't fire me if I work at Ford and drive a Chevy. In addition, the people at ford can't make me drive a ford if I don't want to. I might not get a cherry parking spot but I'm still allowed to park my chevy there, right?

So I asked:

Question about the verizonwireless.com website. Why am I no longer able to log into my account since I switched from windows to linux? I'm using the exact same browser. I'm able to log in and use all features if I spoof my user agent so your program thinks I'm using ie7 on windows vista. This tells me you are specifically blocking non-ms operating systems. Can you provide rationale?

==Update==
And they replied...

On Mon Oct 15 9:52 , Verizon Wireless My Account Online sent:

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.

When using Internet Explorer 7.0, we suggest making the following adjustments to your browser for optimal website functionality.

You can access the tool bar for Internet Explorer 7.0 by hitting the Alt key on your keyboard.

. From the tool bar, select Tools from either the top or right menu bar. From the drop down menu select Internet Options.

. You will see in the middle of the box that displays, under Browsing History, a button labeled Delete. Select the delete button.

. You may select the Delete All button; however, if you wish to keep your stored passwords or form data, you would click on Delete Files, Delete Cookies, and Delete History, separately. Click "Yes" when asked if you are sure you want to delete all Internet Explorer browsing history.

. You will then select the Privacy tab, and from this page click on the Advanced button.

. On the next page, you will need to place a check mark in the "Override automatic cookie handling" box. Select Accept for first and third party cookies, and place a check mark in the box for "Always allow session cookies". Please click OK.

. You will now need to click on the Advanced tab in the upper right hand corner. On this page, scroll down to "Show friendly http error messages" and put a check in that box. Now please click on Apply, and OK.

By overriding automatic cookie handling, you should have full use of your online account.

If you require additional information regarding My Account, you may contact E-Services and Support by replying directly to this email. You may also contact us by dialing 1-800-350-2830 and selecting option 1 when prompted. Representatives will be available to assist you Monday through Friday, 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Pacific Time.

John, we appreciate your business and thank you for using Verizon Wireless products and services.

Sincerely,

Christopher
Verizon Wireless
E-Services and Support

To which I replied:

It seems I wasn't clear with my problem.

My problem is not internet explorer and has nothing to do with internet explorer.

Here is the problem, restated:

I have been a customer for several years and up until recently I have used a windows based computer to access my information online. I have had no trouble with this and I use Mozilla Firefox exclusively.

Recently I switched my home computer to linux. I still use firefox, the same program I use to access the web on windows.

I am unable to log in to verizonwireless.com on the linux platform but am able to access it on a windows machine using the same browser.

My current workaround is to do something called "user agent spoofing" which is where I tell my browser to tell your web server that I'm using a different browser and or operating system. While this does work it is inconvenient and I feel, unnecessary. When I tell your webserver I am using Windows/ie7 it works fine for me. Therefore it isn't a problem on my end, I have all plugins and abilities to use the website.

I was hoping, with my original question, to find out if there is some rationale to this. I would still like to know if I could be privvy to that information.