Does IE not support the base tag?
html, hyperlink, internet-explorer, meta-tags
Solution
IE has always supported `<base href>`. By the specifications, it has always been defined only when the `href` value is an absolute URL, though some browsers have had interpreted it even in the case of a relative URL. It must be placed in the `<head>` part of the document; otherwise browsers may ignore it. The base address can only be set once in a document. (If this is violated, browsers tend to ignore all but the first of them.)
In this case, my guess is that there is some character, outside any tags, before the `<base>` tag. Consider this:
<base href="http://domain.net/qu/en/" />
<a href="sample">Sample Link</a>
This is invalid because of the no-break space character before the `<base>` tag. In HTML parsing, the no-break space, which is not a whitespace character, implicitly closes the `<head>` element and opens the `<body>` element. This means that the `<base>` tag would now be in the `<body>`. Some browsers may still accept it, but as the document cited in Tieson T’s answer says: “Internet Explorer 7 [and newer] strictly enforces the use of the base tag within the head of the document, and will ignore misplaced tags.”
To check things out, use a validator—it will among other things report problems like this.
Problem
I am unclear on IE's support for the `<base>` tag. Some articles suggest that it only works with an absolute href path. But it won't work for me. ``` <base href="http://domain.net/qu/en/" /> <a href="sample">Sample Link</a> ``` On chrome and FF, clicking on the link will take me to `http://domain.net/qu/en/sample` but in IE9, it's taking me to `http://domain.net/qu/sample` I tried this with a relative `<base>` as well, and it doesn't appear to work. I have only tested this in IE9.08