I was talking with Sotolf and Paul Wilde over on the Fediverse, and we got to discussing error codes. A certain xkcd comic came up, one where an esoteric error code is interpreted as “go sit by a lake”, a simple action that removes the frustration from receiving the error.
We started talking about making alternative meanings for other error codes, and my mind turned to the famous 404 Error.
what 404 represents
404 is “Not Found”. 404 represents loss. A page that once existed now exists no longer.
Tech savvy users might immediately check the Wayback Machine where many sites are saved, long after their death. Still, not all sites are captured. Some of the most beautiful, unique pieces of the web are long gone, lost to the whims of their creators (or, more likely, the caprices of the creators’ wallets).
Digital media is flouted as having an indefinite lifetime, but in reality it has one of the shortest useful lifetimes of any technology. Just think: something digital is considered long-lived when it’s been around for a decade.
A single decade. I have books that have been around up to eight times that long.
What’s this mean?
We have to be far more proactive about conserving digital information.
a proposal for an alternate 404 meaning
Instead of getting frustrated when you see a 404 error and trying to find another way to get at the information, take a moment and pause.
Now go, find something you care about. Anything.
Make a copy of it, a personal archive. A copy you know is under your control and not subject to the internet’s whims.
If you do this every time you encounter a 404 page, I can guarantee you’ll be happy one day that you did.
an addendum: Paul Wilde’s “Error Code Index”
Paul has created a lovely index of alternate error code meanings, I implore you to give it a glance. Perhaps submit an alternate meaning of your own?
