"FATAL ERROR": Where Did I Go Wrong and What Can I Do Now?
By Marilyn L. Gross
There is nothing more frustrating when Web surfing than to be stopped dead in your tracks by one of many error messages. Often cryptic in nature and downright scary in tone, messages such as "Error 404," "Unknown Host," "Your Client Does Not Have Permission to View This Site," and "This Program Has Performed an Illegal Action and Will Be Shut Down," can have a chilling effect. Following are some tips for getting past, or better yet, avoiding these interruptions altogether.
The Web has no spellcheck. Make sure that you've written "Amazon" not "Amizon." If you have copied a Web address, make sure that you've captured the entire URL (e.g., "uwnyc.org" not "uwnyc.or"). If you accidentally include even tiny extraneous characters - like a number or a period used in a listing - your computer will inform you that there is no Web site named "1.uwnyc.org".
Nice try, but... Even intelligent guessing won't always lead you to the right answer. For example, how would one figure out that the Web address for Stan Hutton's wonderful "Guide to Nonprofit Charitable Organizations" is ".nonprofit.about.com". Think of the hours which might be wasted if you tried every possible permutation and combination. Instead, type what you know of the organizational name into a search engine like Google.com and scan the hits that it provides until you recognize the specific reference you're seeking. Then click on the link provided and consider bookmarking the site so you can easily locate it in the future.
What's in a name? While one "Center" may choose "ctr.org", another may use "cent.org". I have often been asked if a comprehensive or even up-to-date URL "yellow pages" or "white pages" exists and the answer is "no", on both counts. If all else fails, go back to the search engine approach.
Which suffix will suffice? Not every organization that works with nonprofits is itself a nonprofit, and not every provider of goods and services is a business. If "name.org" doesn't work, try "name.com" - or vice versa. If you still get no satisfaction, try ".net" or possibly ".gov" before giving up. It's a long shot, but you never know.
No trespassing allowed. The warning "Client Does Not Have Permission" to view a particular site can be mystifying. Sometimes the URL you've been given is tied to a private or internal page within a Web site. One clue this has happened is when "index" or "directory" appears in the address. It may be that you have stumbled upon a listing that was never intended for public use. When this occurs, try deleting letters backward until you get something that does work. For instance, with an original address of "moneybags.gov/grants/index.html" you might instead try "moneybags.gov/grants". If an error message appears again, go further backwards and try "moneybags.gov".
Time is of the essence. Feel like you're growing old watching that icon revolve or that status bar inch forward at a snail's pace? Really hit rock bottom when your wait is finally rewarded with a "Connection Timed Out"? Such occurrences are usually just temporary traffic jams. It may be that the site is "down" because it's being updated or the server (big computer) upon which it is being hosted is having technical problems. Or it may be that too many people are trying to visit that site or are online with your Internet service provider (particularly if it's a very small company) at the same time. As with a telephone busy signal, the first course of action is simply to try again a few minutes later. If this doesn't work, try at another time of day, or on another day altogether, before giving up. You may be more successful if you try in the morning - remember if it's noon in New York, it's 9:00 a.m. in California and the hordes are probably just getting their first cup of coffee and going online while Chicagoans are on their second cup and have been surfing for two hours. And whatever time zone you're in, beware of the 3:00 p.m. bell: busloads of school kids will be arriving home and hitting the chat rooms.
Marilyn L. Gross has several upcoming workshops including "Fundraising and the Internet;" "The RFP (Research, Fundraising and Principles) of Fundraising;" "The Internet and Nonprofits Seeking Grants;" "Volunteers and the Internet;" "Where in the Worldwide Web??!! - A Whirlwind Tour for Nonprofits, Local Governments and Public Agencies." Self-paced distance learning courses offered are: "Grant Proposal Writing Basics" and "Researching Grant Opportunities through the Internet." For more detailed information, fees and a spring calendar, visit Educational Funding Strategies, Ltd. at: http://efsinternet.com or contact Marilyn at mlgross@aol.com.
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