bug#33393: [gnu.org #1336696] 404 link

[Therese Godefroy via RT]

On Tue Nov 20 11:10:33 2018, eliz@gnu.org wrote:
> > From: Nicolas Petton <nicolas@petton.fr>
> > Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2018 11:12:22 +0100
> > Cc: 33393@debbugs.gnu.org
> > 
> > Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> writes:
> > 
> > > Thanks for the info.
> > > This has happened before, eg https://debbugs.gnu.org/29671
> > > The simplest solution is if the FSF store keeps
> > > https://shop.fsf.org/product/emacs-manual/
> > > working as a redirect to wherever the current manual is (or a short note
> > > saying that it is out of print when applicable).
> > >
> > > I will ask sales@fsf to do that, unless you know a better address?
> > 
> > Can we maintain a list of redirections ourselves using a .htaccess file?
> > Do you know if the file will be read by the web server?
> 
> I was actually about to suggest something easier: point the readers to
> an address that will never change, such as this:
> 
>    https://shop.fsf.org/collection/books-docs
> 
> Of course, if we can arrange for a more focused URL that won't be
> invalidated by bitrot, that would be better.  However, I do suggest to
> at least consider the "easy" solution against the risk of a 404 with
> the more smart one.

Hello all, 

I quite agree with Eli. A generic redirection would be better.

If you want to keep the link as it is, I don't think a .htaccess
redirection on the gnu.org server would work, because the link points
to shop.fsf.org. You would have to ask the FSF sysadmins
<sysadmin.fsf.org> to update the redirection that seems to exist
already, or replace it with a generic one; something like:
  Redirect http://shop.fsf.org/product/emacs-manual/ 
https://shop.fsf.org/collection/books-docs/
The visitor would easily find the current Emacs Manual.

If you don't want to wait for the FSF admins to do this, I'm afraid
you will have to change the links in the Emacs home page and manuals.
At least, you can use a generic link that will not rot:

* The simplest URL is "/order/". It is rewritten by the gnu.org
  server:
    RewriteRule ^/order/.* http://shop.fsf.org/ [R]
  The visitor would land on the main page of the FSF shop, and follow
  the menu link to the books-docs section.

* You could also use an address in the emacs directory (say,
  /software/emacs/printed-emacs-manual.html), and redirect to the
  current version of the printed manual. This can be done in
  .htaccess, or in a page called "printed-emacs-manual.html".
  You would still have to update the redirection whenever the
  printed version changes, but this isn't going to happen any time
  soon because they just released the 18th edition.

* A variant of the previous method is to use the .symlinks file (no
  real page needed).

My 2 cents.

Best regards,
Thérèse