[WEB4LIB] RE: Browser Back Button Failure - examples needed

[Thomas Dowling]

> We've got a redirect screen that appears to disable the back button at:
> http://www.ulib.csuohio.edu/journ-t.html
> The redirect became necessary when this incorrect URL was published in a
> newsletter sent to the entire campus.  Although it will get folks to the
> page we were publicizing, once you're there, there's no going back -
you're
> endlessly redirected.
>
> By the way, if anyone out there can help me to thwart Grace's plans yet
> again, I'd sure appreciate it.  Was there a smoother way I could have
dealt
> with this problem?
>

Don't assume that all browsers are so brain dead as to let their back
buttons fail in such an obvious situation.

I agree with Kevin Sullivan--tell your webmaster to get on the stick and
perform the redirect with a proper HTTP header and status.  As long as the
"wrong" page returns a 200 OK status, web robots will index it, and they
will not necessarily follow redirects via META tags.


Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu