People hate Internet Explorer because it used to be slower and more problematic then other browsers like Netscape, Firefox, and Chrome. For years, IE has been the most problematic browser, of the bunch, in the sense that it was the worst to keep up to par with web standards. As a developer IE was the 'nightmare browser'. Since IE was never up to par with web standards, websites would display correctly in most browsers, but display incorrectly in IE. Keep in mind that Microsoft made IE the default web browser for Windows, so you had a plethora of people who were using it, unaware that there were much better browsers available. People who were web savvy tended to think that IE users were unsophisticated, in this respect, and they were right. The only reason people used IE was because Microsoft shoved the Browser into their customer's face, and the customer started using it blindly. If the customer was aware of the better browsers, they would have switched. No one wants to browse through the internet slower, or see web pages with missing links.
IE was a developer's nightmare.
As a developer I can tell you that IE was nothing short of a nightmare. When a developer created a website for a customer, the site would have to be compatible in all popular browsers. Usually this wasn't a difficult task, but because IE was bad at staying up to par on web standards, a developer would have to hack and fan-dangle the website to make it compatible IE while appearing the same in Chrom and Firefox. When a developer or a web savvy person suggests better browsers to IE users, many IE users don't listen.
People love to use outdated version of IE.
Most people are still part of the baby-boomer generation. They don't really care about web stuff. They like old cars, eating, black-and-white movies, and trying to stay married. Finding a faster better browser was the last things on their lists. They stick to Internet Exporer because they are afraid a new browser will be a hassle to learn or be a headache to install. They don't even update their browser's version because they just don't care. The developer would have to perform magic to make websites work in IE for the sake of the careless IE users who were a significant number of leisurely internet users.
The spiteful IE user
What sends smoke out of the web savvy person's ear is the spiteful IE user. The IE user who will insist on using IE because they don't want to admit to making a mistake or being duped, kind of like Apple iPhone users. Using outdated IE is a security risk, and people would still insist on it. As a hard worker and civilian I can tolerate breaking my back as a web developer to better society, but I can't tolerate breaking my back to stroke someone's ego and damage society. Many developers started to insist on not making their web programs compatible with old version of I.E. even though many people still used it. Many customers would argue with fellow developers over this, and it caused tension in the developer community. Some developers and designers would accuse other developers of being sell-outs if they still developed for the spiteful zombie IE users.
New users and more hate
Internet Explorer's suck started about 1990 and still sucks today. The baby boomers are dying off, and the X and Y generations are reaching their primes. They were born using the internet so much so that even the unintelligent ones recognize the inferiority of IE to other browsers. With the birth of CMS people that aren't necessarily web developers are tinkering with websites and noticing the inconsistent compatibility with IE browsers.
Recently, after many years of major 'suck' and broken promises, IE has finally created a browser that's fast and up to par with web standards. I.E. 9 may even be as good as Chrome, but I don't trust the company at this point.
