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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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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]''}}
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There is no image for xkcd comic numbered 404. [[Randall]] did, however, not skip a day!
  
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This was the first [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall Munroe|Randall]]. The next became [[880: Headache]], released on Friday April 1, 2011. The [[403: Convincing Pickup Line|previous comic]] was released on Monday March 31, 2008, and the [[405: Journal 3|next comic]] was released on Wednesday April 2, 2008. This comic was released between the two, on Tuesday April 1st 2008.
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The previous comic [[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] was released Monday March 31st 2008, and he put the next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], up as scheduled on Wednesday April 2nd 2008, which leads some to see the 404 as an {{w|April Fools' Day}} joke released in between, as comic [[404: Not Found]] released on Tuesday April 1st 2008.  
  
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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. 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].
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This was thus the first [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' comic]] released by Randall (not counting the unnumbered [[Syndication]] released the previous year). The next (and first real) April Fools' Day comic was not released until [[880: Headache]] on Friday April 1st 2011, although Randall did make [[:Category:April_fools'_comics#Explanation|other jokes]] in the years in between.
  
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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.
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"404" is the HTTP Response Code for "{{w|HTTP 404|Not Found}}." Randall deliberately skipped comic number 404 in xkcd. Therefore, when people go to {{xkcd|404}}, they get a "404 Not Found" error page. (This does not work in all browsers. In newer versions of Internet Explorer, a message about the link being broken occurs without the 404 code.)
  
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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.
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Randall has stated that he considers 404 [https://web.archive.org/web/20190311150907/https://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya an official, actual comic, albeit a rather avant-garde one], and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on xkcd.com. He once again displays this in the 2018 April Fools' joke, [[1975: Right Click]], where you can access all of his comics up to Right Click from the right click menu, and the menu includes this one specifically due to the strange "title"!
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It may seem like a random coincidence that {{xkcd|403}} came out the day before April 1st 2008. And for sure it must have been by chance that it would come out close to that date when Randall began posting on xkcd. But when Randall noticed this fact, at some point prior to that date, he would, however, have had a chance to influence the release date. In November 2007, less than half a year before this April 1st, he released the [[:Category:1337|1337 series]] over five consecutive days. That would have moved the release date of 403 from Friday the 4th of April to the Monday it was actually released - making it possible to skip comic 404 as if it came out on April 1st without skipping a comic on a normal release day. There was at least one other series in 2007 to use all five days of a week ([[:Category:Choices|Choices]]), so maybe he had this planned for a long time?
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It is perhaps an interesting point that the very next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], includes the line "So, you found me after all."
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In [[1969: Not Available]], the error message 404 is referenced in the caption.
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This is featured in a few comics to come, including [[1975: Right Click]] (in File > Open > C:\ > Bookmarks/ > Comics > comic num 404).
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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[[Category:April fools' comics]]
 
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
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[[Category:No title text]]
 

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