404: Not Found

2026-05-05T23:35:16Z

210.186.227.240: Grammar

{{comic
| number = 404
| date = April 1, 2008
| title = Not Found
| before = <br><big><big><big><big><big>'''404 Not Found'''<br><br></big></big></big></big><hr>nginx</big>
}}
{{series
| series = April
| number = 2
| date = April 1, 2008
| days_late =
| day_category = Tuesday
| prev_title = Syndication
| prev_date = April 1, 2007
| next_title = unixkcd
| next_date = April 1, 2010
| extra_text = In fact, [[April Fools' Day comics|2009 and 2017 are the only years]] in which Randall hasn't marked this day with a comic.}}

==Explanation==
{{Quote|I have always been of the opinion that http://xkcd.com/404/ is an actual comic, if a slightly avant-garde one. I actually went out of my way to modify the 'random' button to include it, but that annoyed too many people—most of whom reasonably assumed it was a bug—and I eventually undid it.|[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20190328010454/https://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya Source]}}

The "{{w|HTTP 404|404 Not Found}}" error message is a HTTP standard response code to indicate that the browser was able to communicate with a given {{w|Server (computing)|server}}, but the server could not find what was requested. The error may also be used when a server does not wish to disclose whether it has the requested information. The website hosting server will typically generate a "404 Not Found" web page when a user attempts to follow a broken or dead link; hence the 404 error is one of the most recognizable errors encountered on the internet. (For example, a nonexistent page like https://xkcd.com/fooo will display an identical error message.) Randall deliberately skipped the comic number 404, so when people try to view it, they get a "404 Not Found" error instead. He has said that he considers 404 [https://web.archive.org/web/20190328010454/https://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya an "actual comic"] and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com].

It might initially appear coincidental that the [[403: Convincing Pickup Line|comic 403]] was published just a day before April 1, 2008. However, Randall likely became aware of this possible correlation prior to that specific date, so he had an opportunity to influence the comic's release date. In May 2007 and in November 2007, Randall published the [[:Category:Choices|Choices series]] and the [[:Category:1337|1337 series]] respectively, each over five consecutive days, less than six months before April Fool's Day. This deliberate action shifted the release date of comic 403 from April 10, 2008, to March 31, 2008, when it was actually published. This alteration allowed for comic 404 to be posted on the April Fool's Day without abruptly disrupting the normal comic release schedule.

This comic was featured in [[1975: Right Click]] (in File > Open > C:\ > Bookmarks/ > Comics > comic num 404). Interestingly, the next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], includes the line "So, you found me after all." In [[1969: Not Available]], the error message 404 is referenced in the caption.

The word "nginx", below the heading, is the name of the web server software responsible for hosting the 404 Not Found error message. {{w|Nginx}} is one of many possible web server software packages capable of hosting web pages. It is quite common for error messages from web servers to add details about themselves.

In some cases, this would also include other details, such as its internet address, and probably more operational details if the page requested exists but can't be served, to help discover the error. The software name may feature strongly in such pages, but some 404 messages, in addition to alerting the browser of the unfulfilled request, default to a very short and generic error message. Others are custom designed by the site owners, usually to blend in with the site's look and potentially give more options to the user: presenting portals to search-boxes and/or FAQs; the page-name changes made between an older version of the site and the current form; a site-map/menu of valid pages; related external resources; or other information the site designer considers useful. The default Nginx page is near the minimal end of the scale (as shown above) and is something that many people would have seen, due to being a long-standing and widespread piece of back-end software that reveals itself to anybody who has ever followed a {{w|Link rot|dead-link}} within such a site.

==Transcript==
:[Instead of the regular xkcd site layout, there is only a white page that states the following on top center:]
:'''404 Not Found'''

:[Page-wide divider line]

:[Below that in a smaller font:]
:nginx

==Trivia==
The web comic Comic JK made [https://web.archive.org/web/20100925103935/http://comicjk.com/comic.php/404 a spoof of this comic] in the xkcd style.

{{comic discussion}}

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404: Not Found