Gitelman

Error 404: File Not Found

The ambiguity of this message is what concerns me the most. Like the majority of commands and messages emitted by the computer, it leaves a cloudy sense of doubt, as well as a certain level of tension with the user. Viewing the Web as perishable is not something that comes naturally to anyone who is familiar with the internet, so Gitelman believes that the larger issue at stake is the evolution of a shared sense of sustained publication - one free from error or misunderstanding.

Publication, revision, and editing all pose a problem to the internet and its content. The lack of understanding and distinction between "The true and the false, the important and the trivial, the enduring and the ephemeral" is one of the internet's greatest challenges. Gitelman is most effective and bringing this to mind, and reminding us how error messages and the uses (and misuses) of the Web point to a shared assumption among users as the search for knowing and understanding continues to grow at such a rapid pace.