TSGS Cruiser Blog

Saturday, March 7, 2009

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER -
Research Tips

ENGINEER'S Report - Tech Info

Have you ever found what looked like a possible great site from another site? So, in great anticipation you click on the link and get that unwanted "HTTP 404 Not Found" error page! Now, what... you really wanted to see this page! Well here is one way to, hopefully, find your site!

This was an email pointing out that the Grayson County, KYGenWeb page had a bad link to "Millerstown and It's People" with my email response. After reading my hint, try it yourself!

From Patsy Andrews:

We have just discovered your site and found the link to “Millerstown and It’s People” has been broken. We are very interested in the Hornback, McCrady, Wooten & Logsden families of Millerstown. Is there another way to view this information?
Patsy Andrews
The site I’m referring to is : http://www.kygenweb.org/grayson/graysonlinks/index.html

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This is my response:
Patsy, this link has apparently changed to http://www.mcclure-landis.com/millerstown/index.html Thanks for including the URL to the page where you found this bad link. Believe it or not 99% of people do not even list what general web site the bad link came from, not even the bad link!

This is the bad link: http://www.golocal.com/misc/genealogy/millerstown/index.html When I find a bad link, I first add or delete the "l" in "htm(l)" that is often where the error is found. If not, then I delete the html file name (in this case, "index.html") to see if I can get to the site page one-level back. Since that did not work, I removed "millerstown" and got an instant redirect to: http://www.mcclure-landis.com/ which had a new link to "Millerstown and It's People." If you have never done this before, try it out yourself... go back to the bad link, and work your way back. Sometimes people change servers and this may not work, but sometimes they will have a auto-redirect or a "Site has moved, click here" statement.

I gave you the new link and a hint to, hopefully, find the correct link when one has changed and gives you that dreaded "HTTP 404 Not Found" error. This query from you, prompted my TSGS Cruiser Blog article for today...check it out (second link below) ~ I give you credit for the idea to explain this Internet trick I learned from others on the Internet 12 years or so ago!

John G. West,
President, Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS)
Treasurer, Ohio Valley Chapter Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution (OVC INSSAR)
State Historian, Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution (INSSAR)
State Fair 4-H Judge, Indiana State Fair (4-H Genealogy Project)

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Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS) - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~intsgs/index.html
TSGS Cruiser Blog - http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/
Ohio Valley Chapter INSSAR - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inovcsar/

Patsy Andrews prompted this article to be written as submitted by JGWest

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