Today is April 4th, 2022. For those of us who know about the fourth day of fourth month, 404 day holiday, or webmaster's day, is important.
A 404 message is a computer error message indicating that a connection was made to web server, but server could not find what was requested. These messages are often accompanied by the phrase Not found. The information is usually impossible to find because the links are broken or dead, which means that the pages have been moved or removed. Web servers often create custom 404 pages that contain description, site branding, and humor.
Day 404 corresponds to the fourth day of fourth month of the year. In the past, Electronic Frontier Foundation has used the day to fight Internet censorship in schools and libraries. They partner with MIT Citizen Media Center and National Coalition Against Censorship to encourage librarians and bloggers to get involved by sharing stories about censorship. In this case, access to information is not possible due to 404 messages, but due to censorship; in particular, Children Online Protection Act (CIPA) requires schools and libraries to restrict access to certain websites - sites with obscene and pornographic images - in order for them to receive funding. Many other sites are blocked, such as educational information, medical information about breast cancer and sexual health, information about LGBTQ people, information about minor religions, and art museum websites. These are websites protected by Constitution and censorship of them is considered a violation of the First Amendment.
How to Celebrate 404 Day
One way to mark this day is to find funny and interesting 404 error pages. Another way to celebrate it is to raise awareness about censorship and educate others about laws like Children Online Protection Act.
