Get rid of the new default 404 pages.

[kurisu]

I was outraged to find that my 404 pages had been changed from the apache default to hostgator advertisements. Though this may not seem a major issue to some people, it is to me. I would prefer to have the default apache error pages, rather then a page that advertises the fact that I have shared hosting. This seems to me to be a very shameless act to get extra advertising.

[riostyles]

Many are desappointed,
http://forums.hostgator.com/showthre...&highlight=404
10,000 prints x $.06 * 30 days

[quietFinn]

Originally Posted by kurisu

I was outraged to find that my 404 pages had been changed from the apache default to hostgator advertisements. Though this may not seem a major issue to some people, it is to me. I would prefer to have the default apache error pages, rather then a page that advertises the fact that I have shared hosting. This seems to me to be a very shameless act to get extra advertising.

There is no such thing as "Apache default error pages", if you want your own error pages just make them.

[jojoyohan]

I do have to agree that the customized error pages are stupid. I'm not getting some free hosting account, I'm paying for hosting. It would be nice to go back to the default pages that are used from the browser.

[Serra]

My browser doesn't have default pages. So that doesn't really work. You need to add a default page and that solves the problem. Are you unable to work your ftp program? Do you need some pointers?

[kurisu]

Originally Posted by quietFinn

There is no such thing as "Apache default error pages", if you want your own error pages just make them.

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Please know what you are talken about before making assumptions.
http://httpd.apache.org/404

and taken from Apache's Source

httpd-2.2.4-win32-src.zip\httpd-2.2.4\docs\error

Content-language: en
Content-type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Body:----------en--
<!--#set var="TITLE" value="Object not found!"
--><!--#include virtual="include/top.html" -->

    The requested URL was not found on this server.

  <!--#if expr="$HTTP_REFERER" -->

    The link on the
    <a href="<!--#echo encoding="url" var="HTTP_REFERER" -->">referring
    page</a> seems to be wrong or outdated. Please inform the author of
    <a href="<!--#echo encoding="url" var="HTTP_REFERER" -->">that page</a>
    about the error.

  <!--#else -->

    If you entered the URL manually please check your
    spelling and try again.

  <!--#endif -->

<!--#include virtual="include/bottom.html" -->
----------en--

You must be very bitter and cynical.

[quietFinn]

Originally Posted by kurisu

You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Please know what you are talken about before making assumptions.
http://httpd.apache.org/404

So?
If I go to that pahe using FF I get:

Not Found

The requested URL /404 was not found on this server.
Apache/2.3.0-dev (Unix) Server at httpd.apache.org Port 80

If I use IE I get:

http://forums.hostgator.com/pagerror.gif The page cannot be found

The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try the following:

• If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.
• Open the httpd.apache.org home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
• Click the http://forums.hostgator.com/back.gif Back button to try another link.
• Click http://forums.hostgator.com/search.gif Search to look for information on the Internet.

HTTP 404 - File not found
Internet Explorer

I there was an error document I'd see it in both browsers.

[slapshotw]

That's IE trickery as far as I know. Check it in a Mozilla Browser and Opera, for instance-- you'll see the same error page.

I have to agree that that error page is the apache default. I just started up apache on my own computer, and accessing a localhost page that doesn't exist, I see that same error page. I can guarantee I don't have cPanel or some other program generating error pages on here.

[quietFinn]

Damn IE!
Because of that I've always assumed that if there is no error document the browser is showing the error message.

In Apache documentation it says:

In the event of a problem or error, Apache can be configured to do one of four things,

1. output a simple hardcoded error message
2. output a customized message
3. redirect to a local URL-path to handle the problem/error
4. redirect to an external URL to handle the problem/error

...

and later

Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) will by default ignore server-generated error messages when they are "too small" and substitute its own "friendly" error messages. The size threshold varies depending on the type of error, but in general, if you make your error document greater than 512 bytes, then MSIE will show the server-generated error rather than masking it. More information is available in Microsoft Knowledgebase article Q294807.

So I must correct what I said above:
"There is no such thing as "Apache default error pages", but if an error document does not exists Apache will show it's own simple hardcoded error message (except in IE of course)".

[PsiPro]

kurisu,

Now the problem is they didn't have any default 404 error pages before, they had no error pages, and webmasters who did not put their own up casued server logs etc. to build up. All people need to do is put their own up, which they should have done originally, make them look lke the standard apache ones if you like, here is the code

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<TITLE>404 Not Found</TITLE>
</HEAD><BODY>
<H1>Not Found</H1>
The requested URL /dasfdasjfjfkldasjf was not found on this server.<P>
<P>Additionally, a 404 Not Found
error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
<HR>
<ADDRESS>Apache/1.3.37 Server at SERVER.TLD Port 80</ADDRESS>
</BODY></HTML>

[slapshotw]

To add to what PsiPro said, you can use SSI to make it display the requested URL and some other parameters as well.

[J.Buesking]

This is a disgrace. Shame on hostgator for sliding this in on us. I switched content management systems a couple months ago and had a custom 404 redirecting to my new sites main page. Thinking that all my old links would get redirected to my new sites homepage.

For some odd reason I checked up on this and saw google ads and hostgator ads.

I've been with hostgator for over 2 years and this is almost enough to make me find a new host. There's to many out there to deal with this crap. I pay 15 a month for a site that barely breaks 3gb of bandwidth. Like said above it's not like im on free hosting.
What were you thinking pushing google ads on us. To think I've suggested you guys anytime someone asks for a good host....

[slapshotw]

If you have your own custom 404 you won't see the HG one.

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by J.Buesking

I pay 15 a month for a site that barely breaks 3gb of bandwidth. Like said above it's not like im on free hosting.

Maybe the google ads help keep the cost that low, and allowed HG to enlarge your plan's limits for the same cost.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Maybe the google ads help keep the cost that low, and allowed HG to enlarge your plan's limits for the same cost.

Even though I am not affected by them, I think it is a bad move by HG and way back when I paid for hosting on a shared server, I would have moved on over it. Just my opinion though.

[esl]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

Maybe the google ads help keep the cost that low, and allowed HG to enlarge your plan's limits for the same cost.

I doubt they make much of an impact. Is it HG doing this, not The Planet, right?

[slapshotw]

Originally Posted by esl

I doubt they make much of an impact. Is it HG doing this, not The Planet, right?

It's HG but I still don't see the big deal...making your own 404 pages completely gets rid of them (I know you know that, I'm still talking to future thread visitors).

[esl]

Originally Posted by slapshotw

It's HG but I still don't see the big deal...making your own 404 pages completely gets rid of them (I know you know that, I'm still talking to future thread visitors).

Haha, okay. I do see why people get upset though..

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by esl

I doubt they make much of an impact. Is it HG doing this, not The Planet, right?

Originally Posted by esl

Haha, okay. I do see why people get upset though..

I agree that they're tacky. But given that it takes what--five minutes?--to make a custom one, and the instructions and code to do so are right here in this thread, the complaints seem a little too fierce.

HG might have actually thought that most customers have their own custom pages, particularly resellers, who have complained in other threads. And we should.

From that perspective, the HG 404 pages seem more like scrawling 'wash me' on a dirty car window than anything else.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

I agree that they're tacky. But given that it takes what--five minutes?--to make a custom one, and the instructions and code to do so are right here in this thread, the complaints seem a little too fierce.

How many unsuspecting clients don't even know they are there no less how to cover them up! It's kind of like if your phone company forwarded your business line to another business for calls that aren't answered after XX rings or would normally receive a busy signal. Then they could have the option that if you took a "few minutes" to design a "special" feature they offer to cover it up without telling you the special feature is there.

HG might have actually thought that most customers have their own custom pages, particularly resellers, who have complained in other threads. And we should.

There is a big difference between the reseller error that gives a user a search feature that is much like the default Firefox homepage and the ads on the regular shared accounts. When I saw the shared users 404, I realized why some were so upset.

Although if HG wanted to put up a default error page with the reasoning behind it to save resources, it should not be for a financial benefit other than to preserve server resources.

From that perspective, the HG 404 pages seem more like scrawling 'wash me' on a dirty car window than anything else.

Actually it's more like someone putting a bumper sticker on your car advertising Joe's Car Wash or for those businesses that have vehicles that display their logos etc., maybe adding a competitors advertisement on an empty area of the car or truck.

Your website doesn't have to be a "dirty car" for HG to deface it with advertising. It could be a simple typo of a future customer or visitor that nets them HG's "Billboard"

[esl]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

I agree that they're tacky. But given that it takes what--five minutes?--to make a custom one, and the instructions and code to do so are right here in this thread, the complaints seem a little too fierce.

HG might have actually thought that most customers have their own custom pages, particularly resellers, who have complained in other threads. And we should.

From that perspective, the HG 404 pages seem more like scrawling 'wash me' on a dirty car window than anything else.

Yes- but what about a reseller's non-tech knowledgable clients? Are resellers supposed to set up custom error pages for them too?

[othellobloke]

This was a very bad move and cheap shot by hostgator. It's not enough to make me move from Hostgator...

but it has given me an idea - do my own custom error page with my own google ads on it throughout client websites hahahahaha.

[J.Buesking]

The part you are missing is I already took the time to make my own custom error pages redirect to my sites main page. When they made this change it overwrote them and now for some reason my custom error pages don't work at all.

The only way for me to fix this was by editing my .htaccess.

For the last 3-4 months i've not thought about it because I already took the time to set them up and make sure they worked properly.

When I switched from phpnuke to vbulletin I figured this would redirect all my bad links to my new sites home page. Instead these people were getting hostgator google ads....That why im upset.

[rota919]

I also noticed my own custom error pages dissappeared on me a while ago.
With the only option to use .httaccess to redirect.

I had to sit last night and edit all my clients .htt files to point to the default pages I created for them.

Not funny

[callison]

I also just found this problem. You can go to cpanel's nice web editor and update the .shtml error pages. It would be nice if cpanel would also confirm .httaccess was set to do the redirect. As I recall, we did not used to need to manually edit .httaccess, but just click the cpanel link and it would add the line for you.