- From: Matthew Smith <matt@kbc.net.au>
- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:27:06 +0930
- To: Jesper Tverskov <jesper@tverskov.dk>
- CC: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Quoth Jesper Tverskov at 07/21/06 06:53... > An URL not found should return an error message and status code 404. It > makes it possible to test for broken links and to combat link-rot or > keeping it at a tolerable level. Consistency is important both for > usability and accessibility. Don’t misuse markup, don’t misuse basic > principles of the web. > > We should work for a more transparent and honest net respecting people. > Don’t tamper with my browser opening new windows without asking. Don’t > rewrite my URLs behind my back sending me in another direction without > asking, et cetera. > > A website is welcome to include a list of near matches in the 404 error > message asking the user: “Is this what you are looking for”. No problem. Yes, I agree. I have, fairly recently, gone from providing a "404 - Not Found" type page to a "404 - Not Found, but here is the site menu/map and here is the Google site search." Automatic redirection to a "guessed" page is not only bad for us humans, but just think what it would mean for software agents that are trying to make sense of our site. Cheers M -- Matthew Smith Web Application Development & IT Consultancy http://www.kbc.net.au
Received on Thursday, 20 July 2006 21:57:34 UTC