# What Does It Matter Which Http:// We Use? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 12, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433 "2011-08-12T07:36:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/1 "2011-08-12T07:36:04Z")
When making a hyperlink, why do I have to delete the _second_ http:// and keep the first to make it work? They’re the same and the second one is the one which is actually the one which takes you to the linked page. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/2 "2011-08-12T08:48:35Z")
I don’t quite understand what you mean by the “second” ‘http://’, but I guess the problem you have with inserting hyperlinks is that the board software adds the ‘http://’ by default to the input box, which can lead to broken links if the URL is pasted including another ‘http://’. The easy solution for me is that I copy the complete URL of the site I want to link to, open the “insert link” box, right-click on the highlighted ‘http://’ and paste my URL, thus overwriting it and creating a valid link. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/3 "2011-08-12T09:20:11Z")
Yes, **EH** , that was what I meant. :smack: Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/4 "2011-08-12T12:03:19Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > When making a hyperlink, why do I have to delete the _second_ http:// and keep the first to make it work? Never heard of that. Let’s try it. Insert link. Delete first http and keep the second [http://www.straightdope.com/](http://www.straightdope.com/) hit submit ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/5 "2011-08-12T12:05:18Z")
Now try again, keep the first and delete the second [http://www.straightdope.com/](http://www.straightdope.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/6 "2011-08-12T12:07:46Z")
Seems to work either way round. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/7 "2011-08-12T12:10:45Z")
When **I** do it, I get the message that “IE cannot open this page…” However, when I clicked on both of YOURS, everything worked as it should have, **Peter**. This is also true for whatever I link to in my blog. In the instructions for a link, they say to be sure to keep the FIRST http://, and when I do it works that way. When I leave the first one off (delete it), it doesn’t. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/8 "2011-08-12T12:35:36Z")
**Quasi** , can you please post a link you created in the way in which it didn’t work in IE? Then maybe we can tell by the code what is going wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/9 "2011-08-12T13:33:22Z")
[test](http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/Drummerboy49/silvertone.jpg) [test](http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff71/Drummerboy49/silvertone.jpg) Sorry, I can’t get it to repeat, guys but it’s mostly when I post pictures. [test](http://drumproductreviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/factory-metal-percussion-22-gothic.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FebDsm+%28Reviews%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher) [test](http://drumproductreviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/factory-metal-percussion-22-gothic.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FebDsm+%28Reviews%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher) I swear, guys! I get that IE cannot open page message whenever I do a hyperlink and don’t use the first http. I don’t know why it doesn’t repeat now. Sorry to waste your time **EH** & Co.☹ Quasi ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/10 "2011-08-12T14:00:45Z")
Those links all work for me, in IE as well as in Firefox. If one of them doesn’t work on your machine, then maybe something is wrong with your browser settings. Here’s a non-working test link that can be created by wrongly pasting the URL. Maybe you can check whether your non-working links look similar: [test](http://http://www.straightdope.com/) (code looks like this: [noparse][http://http](http://http)://www.straightdope.com/[/noparse]) P.S.: Don’t worry, if I thought this was a waste of time, I wouldn’t do it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/11 "2011-08-12T14:10:12Z")
Too late to edit: I have yet another idea: Go to a page on your blog with one of those non-working links, right-click on it and choose ‘Copy link’ or ‘Copy address’, reply here and paste the copied link to that post. ---
**Author:** ![MobiusStripes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@MobiusStripes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MobiusStripes)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/12 "2011-08-12T14:10:12Z")
\>\> When making a hyperlink, why do I have to delete the second http:// and keep the first to make it work? In the example you posted with 2 HTTPs you may notice that they aren’t the same. Only one colon was retained. Ignoring the protocol (the http:// bit) “[www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com)” is a valid site. “http//www.straightdope.com” is not. As to why you end up with two http segments? I’m not sure. Probably whatever automated helpful agent is in place is being overly helpful 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-it-matter-which-http-we-use/592433/13 "2011-08-12T21:58:10Z")
The links with “http://” do not work in Opera, or at least not on my computer. It’s possible some browsers filter the extra one out, but it’s best to delete everything in the box where you put the link, then paste the link. Or just paste over the first one. Is there any way for vbulletin to have an empty link box? It would probably cut down these problems.