SUGGESTION: mailto: HREF for admin address in server error msgs

[Martin Kraemer <Ma...@mch.sni.de>]

Hello,

I was wondering if there is a reason why it is impossible to insert an
administrator address in the form

    <A HREF="mailto:WebMaster@some.where">WebMaster@some.where</A>

into the HTTP_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR message.

One might be tempted to specify it in the ServerAdmin directive in the
configuration file (but it gets escape_html()-expanded in
http_protocol.c, probably to prevent some stupid administrator like me to
insert garbage),

Wouldn't it be better/sensible to add the reference in http_protocol.c
automatically, like in:

--- http_protocol.c.bak	Mon Jan 13 12:28:33 1997
+++ http_protocol.c	Tue Jan 14 21:05:27 1997
@@ -1649,8 +1649,9 @@
 	    bputs("The server encountered an internal error or\n", fd);
 	    bputs("misconfiguration and was unable to complete\n", fd);
 	    bputs("your request.<P>\n", fd);
-	    bputs("Please contact the server administrator,\n ", fd);
-	    bputs(escape_html(r->pool, r->server->server_admin), fd);
+	    bvputs(fd, "Please contact the server administrator,\n <A HREF=\"mailto:",
+		    escape_html(r->pool, r->server->server_admin), "\">",
+		    escape_html(r->pool, r->server->server_admin), "</A>");
 	    bputs(" and inform them of the time the error occurred,\n", fd);
 	    bputs("and anything you might have done that may have\n", fd);
 	    bputs("caused the error.<P>\n", fd);

Was the reason against the "mailto:" scheme that it is potentially
unavailable? But even then is this solution "not worse than" the current
behaviour, is it?

    Martin
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Re: SUGGESTION: mailto: HREF for admin address in server error msgs

[Rob Hartill <ro...@imdb.com>]

On Tue, 14 Jan 1997, Martin Kraemer wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> I was wondering if there is a reason why it is impossible to insert an
> administrator address in the form
> 
>     <A HREF="mailto:WebMaster@some.where">WebMaster@some.where</A>
> 
> into the HTTP_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR message.

Error reporting is fully customisable via "ErrorDocument". If the standard
text isn't good enough it's very easy to customise your own response.

> Was the reason against the "mailto:" scheme that it is potentially
> unavailable? But even then is this solution "not worse than" the current
> behaviour, is it?

I think the error message was inherited from NCSA and "ErrorDocument" was
added to overcome its limitations. 


--
Rob Hartill.       Internet Movie Database Ltd.    http://www.imdb.com/