Also, help us explain Randall's What If? articles! We need to add the missing summaries and fix the existing ones. (see here)
Difference between revisions of "404: Not Found"
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{{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]''}} | {{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]''}} | ||
Revision as of 04:16, 14 November 2024
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.
This was the first April fools' comic released by Randall. The next became 880: Headache, released on Friday April 1, 2011. The previous comic was released on Monday March 31, 2008, and the next comic was released on Wednesday April 2, 2008. This comic was released between the two, on Tuesday April 1st 2008.
The "404 Not Found" error message is a HTTP standard response code to indicate that the browser was able to communicate with a given 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 an "actual comic" and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on xkcd.com.
It might initially appear coincidental that the 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 Choices series and the 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.
Trivia
The web comic Comic JK made a spoof of this comic in the xkcd style.
