mysite dot co dot uk dot

How does this get there

[cornwall]

Checking stats, I noticed that a few visits are from

www.mysite.co.uk.
rather then the main visits to
www.mysite.co.uk

I then tried it with dot com sites, and they all work with the extra dot.

Anyone able to explain how or why this happens? Is it just that the punter has put in an extra dot, and its the just the web coping with it, or is there something deeper?

[trillianjedi]

Interesting - can't say I've ever noticed this myself.

I've tested it does seem to be the case that most web engines just deal with it and ignore the dot. I noticed that webmasterworld has a cookie problem with the extra dot though.

Are you sure this isn't one user that has bookmarked the site complete with the extra dot and visiting multiple times?

TJ

[cornwall]

Cannot be just the one user. I have 40 or 50 sites. I noticed it on on site that I had just installed click tracking on, then cross checked on other sites. Works on all of them.

You also get it for something like

[bbc.co.uk....]

The final dot is just ignored and you get the site

My first concern was that it was some vast scam like 302s (of blessed and immortal memory), but that does not seem to be the case.

I have bunged them through a couple of different header viewers, some accept the url with the dot, some give error.

Very odd, perhaps no more than that! I am no whiz in this area, so was trying to tap readers here.

[trillianjedi]

40 or 50 sites

Is it happening on all of them?

I don't recall seeing a single one on any of the 15 sites I run.

Are you sure it's not a mod-rewrite typo that's been copied/pasted across your sites?

TJ

[danthrax]

I've never had this happen to my sites. Looks strange...

[cornwall]

Basically seems to work for either my own sites, or for any other sites I try

For example this works for me, but you say it did not for you.

[webmasterworld.com....]

The more likely conclusion would be that some ISPs are allowing it in dns. I am using BT broadband in UK. Again I am not enough of a dns expert to really know.

In around 10,000 ad views on the site I noticed it on yesterday, 45 were from the url using the extra dot. I guess 1/2 percent would be the sort of mis-inserting the url one could have expected.

It would appear that its a two way process. I can get sites using the extra dot, and other users can get my sites using the extra dot.

[trillianjedi]

What I mean was are you getting visitors to all of your sites coming in via links with the extra dot at the end? That's why I was thinking it might be a mod_rewrite typo.

WebmasterWorld with the extra dot does work, but it doesn't realise that it's me - the cookie is not checked and I am not logged in.

TJ

[cornwall]

What I mean was are you getting visitors to all of your sites coming in via links with the extra dot at the end? That's why I was thinking it might be a mod_rewrite typo.

I'll investigate that, and try with another site - only put the click checker on the one site so far. Take a while get rsults, as I am only apparently looking for 1/2 of a percent of all clicks

As I say, my first concern was there was something deep going on, I think I am reassured that this is not the case ;)

[JKMitchell]

I seem to remember (but can not find now) a rfc on domain names that says that a fully qualified domain name ends with a dot (ie domain.com. or domain.co.uk.)

This final not is not mandatory but nameservers will recognise it (if you think of the '.' as being a delimiter between fields in the name the last '.' is implied)

[trillianjedi]

I seem to remember (but can not find now) a rfc on domain names

Are you sure that wasn't about CNAME's?

TJ

[JKMitchell]

Found on a Google search a reference to the RFC.

"Originally, as defined in RFC 1738 (§ 3.1), the "host" portion of a (Common Internet Scheme) URL was always and unequivocally a fully qualified domain name and the conventional mechanism for distinguishing fully-qualified domain names from non-fully-qualified domain names did not apply. Whether it was example.com. or example.com, the host was intended to be the same. "

HTH

[trillianjedi]

HTH

Thanks JK - I think so.

I'm not sure if that's saying that, technically, a "fully-qualified" domain should have the additional dot?

TJ

[cornwall]

Funny how in "normal" life one can go years without even being aware of this odd fact!

Thanks for the input all to my original question.