Archive for March, 2009
IE passive-aggressive about underscores in host names
Underscores aren’t allowed in host names, so say RFC-952 and RFC-1123 (don’t actually follow those links unless you enjoy reading technical specifications). I didn’t know this, maybe because I prefer hyphens (yes, I have an opinion on underscores vs hyphens, get over it).
It seems IE “enforces” this by quietly blocking cookies from any host that offends the rule. Of course, IE won’t complain when you visit a twisted, underscore-flaunting host, but if cookies are any part of the equation (say, required for login to work) IE will quietly ignore them. This will undoubtedly lead to hours of fun for anyone who is responsible for making the site work the way it should.
Cookies on ASP pages are blocked if the server name contains characters that are not supported by Domain Name System (DNS). For example, you cannot use underscore characters (_) in the server name. This behavior is by design.
Granted that’s an old change, 2002 old. Still, it interfered with my week so I’m taking this opportunity to complain about it.
