On the case with case-sensitive URLs

I came across a case-sensitive URL recently while subbing a feature for one of our print publications. Here it is:

http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/coIdFraud.shtml

If you change any of the upper-case letters in the address to lower-case (or vice versa), the page won't load. How strange.

We wanted to list the URL in the feature, but not only did it break house style, I thought it might confuse some of our readers. We could have put a note explaining that the URL was case-sensitive - but that seemed a bit ridiculous.

In the end we used a URL-shortening service (such as Tiny.cc) to come up with a new, case-insensitive URL, and listed that in the feature instead.

Oh, here's some information about case-sensitive URLs.

World's longest URL?

As part of my increasing involvement in the web side of things here at work I have been spending some of my time recently fixing mistakes and inconsistencies on our website. Unfortunately I work on a Mac and the less than perfect web-based system I need to access to make my corrections only runs properly on a PC.

Rather than running up and down the office between my Mac and the spare PC all day, I have been writing proof marks on a printout of the web page in question and giving this to a friendly PC operator to make the corrections for me. Very high-tech, huh?

As well as the usual typos and lapses in style, one unique element of subbing (or indeed, copy editing) for the web is fixing broken hyperlinks. Whenever I have found a broken link I have been writing the correct URL on the paper proof for the PC operator to tap in for me.

This was working well – until I came across a URL on a certain government website that went on... and on... and on. I copied it into Word and did a quick character count only to find that this web address was a whopping 362 characters long. That's definitely a personal record.

Anyone beat that?