Internet Error Messages
by Shirley Malcolm
They sound so loud and intimidating. It's hard not to take them personally. Bad request! Unauthorized! Forbidden! The error messages that pop up on the Net aren't exactly designed to put you at ease. But there's something worse than their tone. Those error messages and mysterious dialog boxes you keep running into are often not clear, and they're seldom helpful. And that's a match made in cyberhell.
There's no need to take these stern admonitions personally. Error messages aren't usually a wrist-slapping for anything you did wrong. And the dialog boxes that your browser pops up so often are usually asking you to make a simple choice. But it takes a while to figure out the implications of each message or choice. We've compiled a list of the most common error messages, complete with what they mean and what you can do about them.
First you should memorize the two golden rules of URLs:
1. Always check what you've typed for errors. The most common
errors are caused by typos. And don't forget the subclause to this rule:
always check that the case of the letters in a URL is correct. Unix knows
the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters, and it doesn't translate
between the two.
2. Try again. Temporary delays and errors go with the territory. Sometimes just hitting the Reload button is all it takes. Other times waiting an hour and hitting the Reload button does the trick.
The Messages:
400 - Bad
request
401 -
Unauthorized
403 -
Forbidden
404 - Not
found
503 - Service
unavailable
Bad file
request
Cannot add form
submission result to bookmark list
Connection refused
by host
Failed DNS
lookup
File contains
no data
Helper application
not found
Host
unavailable
Host
unknown
Network connection
was refused by the server
NNTP server
error
Permission
denied
Too many
connections--try again later
Too many
users
Unable to locate
host
Unable to locate
the server
Viewer not
found
You can't log
on as an anonymous user
Shirley Malcolm is a freelance writer based in Sedona, Arizona.
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