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 HOWTO: Fix broken links due to exotic characters
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9688 Posts

Posted - 11/23/2008 :  17:56:32  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message  Reply with Quote
How to fix broken links due to exotic characters, crash course:

One fatal flaw of the forum software when it comes to hyperlinks is that it doesn't translate "exotic" characters well. This means that characters like ( ) < > [ ] & and the likes are not recognised as a part of an URL, or it simply gets stripped from the link when someone is trying to open it. It's partly made this way for security reasons.

Example 1, a link posted "as is". Forum software recognizes everything up until the first parenthesis. But the correct address should include "(novel)".

The actual, correct link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)

Watch the clickable link getting broken:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)


Example 2, the link is posted with the forum BB-code, the [URL]-tag.
Looking like this in your editor:

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)"]Solaris[/url]

This time you get a nice Solaris link, but when the forum software is done coding the post, the final clickable link will be stripped of the parenthesis, looking like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_novel

...which obviously isn't the right address.


Sollution:

If the link becomes faulty, double-check for "exotic" symbols like the ones above, and encode them. Special symbols have replacement-codes for URL that enables browsers to send the most basic characters to the server, without "exotic" characters, and the servers take care of the rest.

You simply exchange the symbol for it's hexa-decimal code counterpart which comes from ANSI standard.

( = %28
) = %29
[ = %5B
] = %5D

The final link should read like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_%28novel%29

The code, %28 and %29 will make all the difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_%28novel%29


More codes can be found in the table at this page.
Just remember to get the hexa-decimal number for each character. That's the numbers that are in the bottom of each cell in the table, which may include the letters A-F.



PS
Thanks to Siberia for inspiration to finally write this How-To. @}-,-`--

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.

Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 01/21/2012 17:57:33

chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend

Hong Kong
380 Posts

Posted - 01/21/2012 :  19:19:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send chefcrsh a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Damn, this is not at all what I expected from the header. :(
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the_ignored
SFN Addict

2562 Posts

Posted - 01/21/2012 :  19:22:57   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send the_ignored a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Huh? Oh. "Exotic characters"!

Get yer mind out of the gutter...it's crowded enough in here as it is!


>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.

What brought that on? this. Original posting here.

Another example of this guy's lunacy here.
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chefcrsh
Skeptic Friend

Hong Kong
380 Posts

Posted - 01/21/2012 :  21:26:42   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send chefcrsh a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Not to denigrate our Nordic friend, nor bring disrepute to the laudable PSA incumbent in this thread, but I for one would have supported SOPA/PIPA if there had only been a rider requiring that any internet reference to exotic characters had the mandatory minimum requirement that each such post contain - at the very least (and preferably much more but I won't explain)- a picture of Marty Feldman in a silly hat or some similar iconic exotic character.
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