http:// & http://www

[joycie]

Would appreciate if someone could enlighten me on the following:
1) why some websites start with "http://" whereas some "http://www"? :confused:
2) when was this site created?

Thanks to the company/person who created this site and salute to all who help to answer queries.

[djr33]

Can't answer the second question, but DDadmin should be able to (or another user who has been here longer than me).

As for www, I don't know the origins, but here's the basic summary--
1. It is the default...generally, something.com defaults to www.something.com, and, in many cases, http://something.com defaults to http://www.something.com. (Note that the former is based on the browser, which also assumes http:// in both of those cases, and the latter is based on the host, since the full url is chosen in the second example, though the host could also for a www. into the url if it has a redirect setup, etc.)
2. www. is technically a subdomain, like pictures.mysite.com, or links.something.com. It is just the hmm... I guesss 'normal' one to be used.
3. www stands for "world wide web", and I guess it just is what was originally adopted for use.
4. A site can control what subdomains do in a couple ways (I think the .htacces file is one of those, if not the main one). www. could differ from the 'main' site.
5. subdomains are important in regard to cookies which store bits of data when the user returns to a page (like 'visited pages', or 'time of last visit', etc.). If the cookie was created on a subdomain, it is only available for that subdomain. If no subdomain, then it is available for the whole site. This is why if you access this message board or any other, you won't be logged in if you originally logged in from www.board.com, and are now just viewing board.com. Kinda complex, and probably more than you were asking.

My assumption about the origin is that, a while ago, someone decided to make www (world wide web) the default for webpages. http://news.site.com might be something else, like a news feed, or something, to give the first thing that comes to mind. But I don't know any details... just guessing here. At this point, then, www. is obsolete, but kinda sticks with us.

So... hope that helps.

[mwinter]

1) why some websites start with "http://" whereas some "http://www"?

There's not necessarily a reason, other than the fact that some prefer one over the other.

A memorable thread on this subject came up almost a year ago on Usenet, entitled why www? (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.html/browse_thread/thread/2d8905444076def2/d7bbd1e12ccaf29e?tvc=2&hl=en#d7bbd1e12ccaf29e). There are certainly other threads on the same topic; most are older, though a couple might be more recent, if you care to search.



2) when was this site created?

The copyright notice on the homepage suggests some time in 1998.

Mike

[boxxertrumps]

DDadmin Would Know.
He can do Anything. he's the goddamn Batman.