Re: No Referrer - When?

At 9:23 +0100 4/05/01, Jason Peters asked:
>In what circumstances would there be no referrer details for 
>visitors to a site?

Literally, when no other page, or site, has directly "referred" the 
user to the page in question.

This will be the case if a user directly asks for the page either by 
calling it from his/her bookmarks, or by typing or pasting the URL in 
to their browser window. Another very common situation is when people 
click on a link that's been highlighted in an email message.

There will also be no referrer if for any reason the user hits 
"reload" or "refresh" during the attempt to reach a page, which of 
course happens a great deal.

This can be tricky if you're using the HTTP_REFERER environment 
variable to block or reroute visitors being sent to your site from an 
illicit link, such as one set by a site that's "framing" pages on 
your site without permission.

Basically, there will only be a "referer" (the person who set that 
word as the name for an environment variable unfortunately couldn't 
spell!) for a connection in which the user has directly followed a 
link to the page in question, and done so without hitting "reload".

Needless to say, many of the links that refer users to a given page 
will actually be on your site, particularly if you're using frames.

HTH,


-- 
David Sharp, journalist(e), France <mailto:david.sharp(at)sharp-words.com>
Site personnel / Personal home page http://www.sharp-words.com/
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