https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt may shed some light on this. It describes the ":" as the separator, while the // is a

https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt may shed some light on this. It describes the ":" as the separator, while the // is a scheme-specific prefix, like a super-powered path separator. More here: https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html#etc https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html#etc