# "404/"page not found": when/why "404" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241 "2010-02-09T05:10:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/21 "2010-02-09T18:20:48Z")
The point is moot anyway. No search engine is going to help you much if you are on a page that has a link that points to a non-existent page. Or image files that are missing. Or a million other things that can be out of place. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/22 "2010-02-09T18:31:06Z")
Right. Which is why I was referring specifically to cases of mistyped addresses. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/23 "2010-02-09T21:36:00Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Wikipedia (the source of all approximate knowledge) gives a 2008 citation. I’m too lazy to look for more, considering how much dross the phrase 404 generates, however, apparently the [error codes were established](http://www.404errorpages.com/) in '92 2008? I’m still trying to catch up with 1980s slang. ---
**Author:** ![Uncertain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Uncertain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncertain)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/24 "2010-02-10T07:30:14Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It’s clear to anyone with more than three brain cells that **psychonaut** was referring to Google’s public search service, not hardware search appliances that they sell to customers. I would like to see a four-cell implementation that makes this distinction. Also, DBaJ. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/25 "2010-02-10T08:42:10Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > You sure it wasn’t a 402? 🙂 Even in the case of 402, some may be impeded by 405’s. BTW, this whole interlude ought to be 450. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/26 "2010-02-10T14:21:38Z")
After reading that, I really want to implement a URL where the server returns a 418. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/27 "2010-02-10T14:47:15Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Even in the case of 402, some may be impeded by 405’s. BTW, this whole interlude ought to be 450. I think it was a 405 / 502. Of course, my last girlfriend returned a 424. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/28 "2010-02-10T19:53:07Z")
[Once upon a midnight dreary, while I websurfed weak and weary…](http://interloper.org/404/404.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mannish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mannish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mannish)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/29 "2010-02-10T20:04:59Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I think it was a 405 / 502. > > Of course, my last girlfriend returned a 424. ☹ Once every 4 weeks or so, my girlfriend gives me a 503… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/30 "2010-02-10T20:09:41Z")
I type short url’s like [ebay.com](http://ebay.com), [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) etc. It’s quicker than searching my bookmarks. [boards.straightdope.com](http://boards.straightdope.com) is a little long, but I type that too. 😃 > [@Alessan](#): > > Does anyone actually type things into their address bar anymore? That’s what Google is for. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/31 "2010-02-10T22:11:20Z")
I’ve run into a 417 or two. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/32 "2010-02-10T22:46:53Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Wikipedia (the source of all approximate knowledge) gives a 2008 citation. I’m too lazy to look for more, considering how much dross the phrase 404 generates, however, apparently the [error codes were established](http://www.404errorpages.com/) in '92 '92 sounds about right. [W3C claims '91 for the basic protocol](http://www.w3.org/Protocols/HTTP/AsImplemented.html), ['92](http://www.w3.org/Protocols/HTTP/HTRESP.html) for the error code system - and they should know. The basic HTTP protocol was definitely alive and prospering in '93, though the earliest “official standard” I can find ([RFC 1945 - HTTP 1.0](http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1945.txt)) was published in '96 - which was the time some of my fellow students were already making money making commercial websites. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/33 "2010-02-10T22:56:25Z")
As in, from a girlfriend, or from a webserver? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/34 "2010-02-11T04:05:47Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > No, it doesn’t. It’s clear to anyone with more than three brain cells that **psychonaut** was referring to …\ Thought I’d skip this point, but I got mad again. You’d think that a Charter Member’s 15,090th post would be more civil. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/35 "2010-02-11T16:09:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As in, from a girlfriend, or from a webserver? Who, me? Straight woman, so that would be from a boyfriend. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/36 "2010-02-12T13:52:34Z")
Is it just me, or is the whole set of status messages filled with innuendo? (The standards committee must have been a horny bunch) 449 -\> Get it sometimes. Ooh and 502 sounds really kinky. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/37 "2010-02-12T23:44:14Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Does anyone actually type things into their address bar anymore? That’s what Google is for. People thinking like this leads to [trainwrecks like this one.](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_wants_to_be_your_one_true_login.php) In short: A lot of people used Google to get to Facebook by just blindly clicking the first link when they searched for Facebook. This news article was moved to the top spot. A lot of people got really confused when they couldn’t log in to Facebook on a site that is in no way connected to Facebook and doesn’t even look like Facebook. As a result, the comments section is absolute schadenfreude gold. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/38 "2010-02-13T01:29:17Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > People thinking like this leads to [trainwrecks like this one.](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_wants_to_be_your_one_true_login.php) > > In short: A lot of people used Google to get to Facebook by just blindly clicking the first link when they searched for Facebook. This news article was moved to the top spot. A lot of people got really confused when they couldn’t log in to Facebook on a site that is in no way connected to Facebook and doesn’t even look like Facebook. > > As a result, the comments section is absolute schadenfreude gold. That was very funny. Then, it made me wonder something. How much money does Google make from people that go to websites by searching for the term and then clicking on the sponsored link to get to a web page they were going to go to anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241/39 "2010-02-13T01:57:17Z")
> [@cstamets](#): > > That was very funny. > > Then, it made me wonder something. How much money does Google make from people that go to websites by searching for the term and then clicking on the sponsored link to get to a web page they were going to go to anyway? Broadly: it depends on how many people are interested in paying for those specific clicks. Which depends on how many people actually click on those links. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/404-page-not-found-when-why-404/528241.md?page=1)