Talk:HTTP 404

HTTP Status Codes

The following is original research, and thus should not be used directly to edit the article, but it may lead to someone finding a citation to a reliable source that confirms it.

The article says:

"Soft 404s can occur as a result of configuration errors when using certain HTTP server software, for example with the Apache software, when an Error Document 404 (specified in a .htaccess file) is specified as an absolute path (e.g. http://example.com/error.html) rather than a relative path (/error.html)."

I just tested this on Apache 2.2.20, and found that when I put " ErrorDocument 404 http:/www.example.com/ " in the .htaccess file, it serves up the file with a 302 redirect status code, not a 200. (" ErrorDocument 404 / " serves up the document with a 404 status code. ) --Guy Macon (talk) 19:47, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 19 December 2011

124.180.130.159 (talk) 05:54, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Not done: {{edit semi-protected}} is not required for edits to semi-protected, unprotected pages, or pending changes protected pages. mabdul 12:27, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 13 January 2012

120.56.241.134 (talk) 15:20, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

No request made--Jac16888 ^Talk 15:25, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit request, 3rd Feb 2012

"Google Chrome includes similar functionality, where the 404 is replaced with alternative suggestions generated by Google algorithms, if the page is under 512 bytes in size."

That bug was fixed in Feb 2011: http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=36558

Perhaps email mmenke (see bug) if you need further information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 111.69.28.170 (talk) 19:55, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Missing historical information

This Article is missing the information on where the name 404 historically comes from. Please ad it.

404 was the name of the first server room. so whenever there was a problem people had to go there.

http://www.room404.com/page.php?pg=homepage — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.78.152.79 (talk) 11:13, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

If you are going to add anything about the above, it should be noted that that story is an urban myth and the 404 code is based on a logical system of status codes and has nothing to do with any room in CERN or anywhere else. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.229.237.17 (talk) 22:35, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

How does User:60.229.237.17 know about this origin? Is there a source for this? BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 15:57, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Page name

If the WP protocol is to be followed, shouldn't the page name be 404 error? — The redirect page "404 error" is near the top (currently #6) on the page stats list:[1] and HTTP 404 doesn't even make the top 1000 list. ~Regards, ~E : 74.60.29.141 (talk) 06:58, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

You might have a good point. Currently, 404 error is #59 and HTTP 404 is #822. That shows that more users are using the redirect than accessing the article directly by an order of magnitude. I also get more Google Books hits for "404 error" (~6k) than for "http 404" (~2k), but even these are edged out by hits for "404 not found" (~8k). Does anyone have any other thoughts on the most appropriate title for this article? Wilhelm Meis (☎ Diskuss | ✍ Beiträge) 04:02, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

We might also look into HTTP 403, which I would suggest moving to 403 Forbidden. Wilhelm Meis (☎ Diskuss | ✍ Beiträge) 04:15, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Github

Github returns fake 404 errors for pages that are hidden from the public. This can be paradoxical if someone creates a private fork of a public project and then does a pull request. The existence of the private fork, and its commit hashes, will be visible to the public, but any attempt to access it will result in 404.

When it becomes verifiable, we'll know to add it to the article. Meneth (talk) 13:12, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

It's not a particularly notable subject, and sounds more like a (possibly deliberate) mistake in the way the system handles erroneous requests. If memory serves, the correct error would be a 401.  drewmunn  talk  13:42, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

"optional, mandatory, or disallowed ... message"

At the beginning of the Overview paragraph...

"... numeric response code and an optional, mandatory, or disallowed (based upon the status code) message"

This says the message is one of (i) optional, (ii) mandatory, or (iii) disallowed.

I don't think this is what was intended. It doesn't make sense. This is what happens with amateur contributors and editors who don't have a good grasp of the English language. I would have corrected it but it's not possible to discern from the sentence what was actually intended.

On a secondary point of style, the parenthetical clause should be removed from the middle of the sentence and placed at the end, following a comma and without the parentheses.

Anybody can edit. Also anybody can sign messages with four fildes (~). BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 15:59, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Slang section?

I feel that the slang section does not belong as a subsection of the IIS section. Lythronaxargestes (talk) 19:16, 19 August 2016 (UTC)

Minimum Chrome error page size for replacement

According to https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=36558 and https://src.chromium.org/viewvc/chrome?revision=75887&view=revision Chrome will only replace 404 pages which have 0 bytes of size (this may mean "Custom error pages" needs to be updated).

80.194.75.37 (talk) 10:51, 9 January 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on HTTP 404. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140902081543/http://notfound.org/notfound to http://notfound.org/notfound

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Semi-protected edit request on 21 December 2018

there are many dead links we should add new and genuine links. Thakur ajad (talk) 13:39, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ‑‑ElHef (Meep?) 14:06, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:404 which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 03:16, 3 August 2019 (UTC)

Business 102.88.70.35 (talk) 23:11, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 April 2024

Identifying 404 Error Pages There are several possible ways to identify 404 (Page Not Found) error pages on a website:

• Browser Indication: When you try to access a non-existent page on a website, most modern browsers will display a “404 Not Found” error message in the browser window.
• HTTP Status Code: The server responds with an HTTP status code of 404 when a requested page or resource is not found. You can check the status code in your browser’s developer tools (usually by opening the Network tab and inspecting the response headers).
• Server Log Files: Web servers typically log all incoming requests, including those that result in 404 errors. You can analyze the server log files (e.g., Apache’s access.log or Nginx’s access.log) to identify 404 errors and the requested URLs that caused them.
• Web Crawling/Scanning Tools: Various web crawling and scanning tools, such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, can be used to crawl a website and identify 404 error pages. These tools will report the URLs that returned a 404 status code.
• Google Search Console: If you have your website registered with Google Search Console, you can check the “Crawl Errors” report, which lists the URLs on your site that returned 404 errors when crawled by Google’s bots.
• Site Search: Some websites have a built-in search functionality. Attempting to search for a non-existent page or term can sometimes trigger a 404 error page.
• Broken Link Checkers: There are online tools and browser extensions (e.g., Broken Link Checker for Chrome, Ahref Broken Link Checker) that can scan a website or specific page for broken links, which often result in 404 errors.

Reference [2]https://whitebunnie.com/how-to-fix-404-error-for-better-user-experience-and-seo/ Theadamroot (talk) 11:49, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: not appropriate for an encyclopedia. HansVonStuttgart (talk) 12:08, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 October 2024

There is a broken link on the page that should be replaced. Specifically, please replace the broken link with the following:

https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33766/10-clever-website-error-messages-from-creative-companies.aspx

This will restore functionality and provide relevant content for users. Adamou752 (talk) 18:14, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

@Adamou752 which link, exactly, is on the page and currently broken? Skynxnex (talk) 19:43, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

Hey no worries it looks like it is not broken. my bad Adamou752 (talk) 08:15, 23 October 2024 (UTC)

Unproven information

“The term "404 Not Found" was coined by the creator of HTTP Tim Berners-Lee, who explained in a 1998 interview that he wanted to make the error message "slightly apologetic". He also said that he considered using "400 Bad Request" instead, but decided that it was too vague and technical.”

This info is not in the source cited. 2601:646:8000:4510:749C:CF66:DC66:A4A4 (talk) 17:09, 4 November 2024 (UTC)

404 delete this erroe 176.29.121.177 (talk) 07:36, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

I've tracked down the archived copies of the source, and none of them contain that information. The page simply says "According to the Room 404 website, the error message is named after the room number where the original database for the Web was hosted at CERN, the European research lab where Tim Berners-Lee developed the Web in the late 80’s." I'll try to track down the original source before I change/remove material.

According to Wired https://www.wired.com/story/page-not-found-a-brief-history-of-the-404-error/#:~:text=In%20the%20early%202000s%2C%20the,Trending%20Now even the room claim is incorrect. Meters (talk) 08:12, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

Teh second ref also does not support its associated claims so I've just removed the entire section. Meters (talk) 08:24, 23 December 2024 (UTC)