Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about Home Pages

Why do I get index-nn4.html when visiting MIT's home page?

The Web Communications Services Team produces two versions of the MIT home page. The main version sometimes takes advantage of newer aspects of the HTML standards, and will display correctly in all compliant browsers. Unfortunately, the Netscape 4.x (and older) browser versions are not compliant. A second version of the home page is produced that is more suitable for Netscape 4.x. This version is named index-nn4.html. (The nn stands for "Netscape Navigator".)

The web server provides this page when a request is received from one of these older browsers. If you don't want to be directed to index-nn4.html, Information Systems recommends that you use Netscape 6.x or Mozilla, depending on the type of computer you have. For details, see the Software section of the Supported Products page.

The two versions of the MIT home page include the same information and the same links. Whenever the main version is updated, index-nn4.html will also be updated, although the process is not automatic and there may be a short delay.

The MIT home page is evolving. Although there will be times when the two versions are very similar or even identical, the future will bring greater differences in the detailed structure and design of the main version.