Make the 404 error more friendly?
#1
Original Poster

Join Date: Dec 2001
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 577
Make the 404 error more friendly?
At the moment, entering a wrong address on flyertalk.com yields a generic 404 error... perhaps that could be changed to something more friendly? Compare:
http://www.flyertalk.com/wrongaddress
http://www.yahoo.com/wrongaddress
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wrongaddress
Thanks.
http://www.flyertalk.com/wrongaddress
http://www.yahoo.com/wrongaddress
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wrongaddress
Thanks.
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist



Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: DCA
Programs: AMC MovieWatcher, Giant BonusCard, Petco PALS Card, Silver Diner Blue Plate Club
Posts: 22,314
At first it seemed to me like this would be a cosmetic thing that couldn't provide real value...
And then I had a thought...
What if the error converted the URL of a post into the ARCHIVE version of the same URL?
Something like
"Sorry, that wasn't found. Try this instead: ...."
Would be real convenient for all the broken links that come from archiving old threads.
And then I had a thought...
What if the error converted the URL of a post into the ARCHIVE version of the same URL?
Something like
"Sorry, that wasn't found. Try this instead: ...."
Would be real convenient for all the broken links that come from archiving old threads.
#3
Original Poster

Join Date: Dec 2001
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 577
Right... the goal of the other "wrong address" pages is to help the user figure out where they want to go. It shouldn't be too difficult to parse the URL and replace "/forum/" with "/pasttalk/ftpasttalk_forum/", and provide the usual "MilesBuzz/TravelBuzz/.../FT Archives" links that appear at the top of each page.
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist




Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Sunny SYDNEY!
Programs: UA Million Miler. (1.9M) Virgin Platinum. HH Diamond + SPG Gold
Posts: 32,351
'Make the 404 error more friendly?'
Maybe they could add a few smileys to the error page?
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~ Glen ~
Come and visit the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!
Maybe they could add a few smileys to the error page?

------------------
~ Glen ~
Come and visit the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

