Awesome idea and very noble. I wonder however if any users will have objections to this.
Perhaps kidnappers.
And runaways who's parents believe their lost.
Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
11–20 of 173 posts
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#12Interesting concept. The actual 404 pages look like: http://notfound-static.fwebservices.be/404/index.html
Here's an example of a live site - http://feber.se/dsf
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#13I appreciate the noble motives behind this, but programs like the AMBER alert have not proven very effective[1].
Furthermore, abductions by strangers are incredibly rare; most abductions are by people that the child knows well (such as an estranged parent/relative, etc.). These are the cases for which the AMBER alert is most likely to have success, but they're also the cases for which it is the least likely to be necessary (ie, people investigating the case are going to be several steps ahead of a passerby who happens to drive by the billboard).
Also, 75% of children who are abducted and murdered are killed within the first three hours, so the shelf life of these alerts is incredibly small. Even smaller for people who are sitting at the computer when they see the alert, not driving on a freeway.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMBER_Alert#Controversy_about_...
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#14Seems ridiculous for any website without a very localized userbase.
Not really, the missing person could turn up pretty much anywhere. Even if it leads to a single success story of somebody being found, I think it would be worth doing.
What if it causes someone in, say, Massachusetts to memorize the face and name of a missing child in, say, California and doing so causes them to forget or concentrate less on some local missing child?
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#15I did this in 2010 and reactions were mixed between "amazing idea" and "this is stupid." http://www.hanselman.com/blog/PutMissingKidsOnYour404PageEnt...
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#16Seems ridiculous for any website without a very localized userbase.
Not really, the missing person could turn up pretty much anywhere. Even if it leads to a single success story of somebody being found, I think it would be worth doing.
You're right, they could turn up anywhere.
Problem is, the alerts are shown in Dutch and German on my french-speaking Swiss blog. I don't think my readers, when coming across a 404 while looking for something, will read "Verdwenen op 2-jarige leeftijd" and head straight to google translate to look up what it means.
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#17Good motives, terrible idea.
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#18Wow, things got real quickly. I love the idea but it does seem dark and confusing.
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#19Interesting concept. The actual 404 pages look like: http://notfound-static.fwebservices.be/404/index.html
Yeah, the page I got was for a guy who was 42 years old. Not exactly the kid on the milk carton.
Re: Turn your 404s into lost children alerts
#20Awesome idea and very noble. I wonder however if any users will have objections to this.
If it's "for the children" one is not allowed to object or to hold any opinion other than "that's the most excellent idea ever".