The problem is, I don’t always want the URL that returns 404. In fact, I’d say almost every time I don’t want it; I’m seeing the page because I made a typo. W

The problem is, I don’t always want the URL that returns 404. In fact, I’d say almost every time I don’t want it; I’m seeing the page because I made a typo. When I have a mistake, the only thing I want is my UNALTERED original input, and a chance to fix it. The ire-inducing thing about most “helper” pages, including the ad-ridden search pages that ISPs like to return instead of 404, is that they complete rewrite my address bar. This means that instead of being able to fix a single character and try again, I most likely have to retype the whole damned thing. Especially on mobile, there’s nothing quite like entering "simplething.com/foo", accidentally typing "simplethin.com/foo", and being redirected to "godawfulisp.com/applications/helper.jsp?unnecessarycrap=1&adtracker=2&garbage=xyz&useextraobnoxiousads=true". At that point, my options are “go back” (returning a blank page) or trying to “select” the URL field (which is horrible on the iPhone) and reentering everything. All because I saw a page I didn’t even want. This made me so mad that I configured special blocker patterns to ensure that ISP pages could not even be loaded. In other words, please stop “helping” users if you don’t really understand what the problem is. Sometimes an error and the unaltered original input is exactly the right thing to show.