lucy24 - 11:18 pm on Feb 9, 2013 (gmt 0)

can you do that for a 410? I have never needed to know

You can make a custom error page for anything. Unless, ahem, your host won't let you-- in which case it's time to shop for a new host. The one exception is that if it's the type of 500-class error that brings the server to its knees, the server may not be able to get to your custom page.

The 410 response is only served up if you explicitly say to; it's not a server default like 404 meaning "I dunno, I'm just a dumb machine and I can't find it anywhere." And the apache-default 410 page is even scarier than the default 404, so you should definitely make your own.

In some cases you can simply point to the same physical page as your custom 404. The user may not especially care if the page used to exist or never did. But if all your 410s come from the same reason, it would be thoughtful to make a separate page. Just don't say "Neener-neener, someone else already bought that car so you're SOL and maybe next time you'll be faster." If you have a site search, definitely include it. "As long as you're here, have a look around. We may have something else that's right up your alley."