History of a 404

The 404 message is commonly used to indicate to a webpage user that a page they are looking for no longer exists or can’t be found.

Wikipedia states that “The 404 or Not Found error message is a HTTP standard response code indicating that the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested”. 1

Some think that the number 404 has it origins at the CERN offices in Switzerland, the birthplace of the World Wide Web. Housing a central database, room 404, handled all file requests. If a file could not be found the message: “Room 404: file not found” was sent back.2

However, the 404lab website believes the room 404 explaination to be a myth, and the site breaks down the numbers as a status code:

"The first 4 indicates a client error. The server is saying that you’ve done something wrong, such as misspell the URL or request a page which is no longer there. Conversely, a 5xx error indicates a server-side problem. It also indicates an error which may be transient; if you try it again, it may work.

The middle 0 refers to a general syntax error. This could indicate a spelling mistake.

The last 4 just indicates the specific error in the group of 40x, which also includes 400: Bad Request, 401: Unauthorized, etc" .3

Regardless of the true origins of the 404 error message, we are sorry you are unable to locate the page you are looking for.

  • 1 "HTTP 404." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
  • 2 "The History of 404 Error Message." Bugs of a Debugger The History of 404 Error Message Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
  • 3 "404 Research Lab." 404 Research Lab a Brief History of 404 Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.