Let's track the footprints!

[clarkcd]

So I logged on this morning and saw all the file folders replaced by footprints. I thought it was pretty cool. Carrie comes home for lunch and checks the boards only she doesn't find any foot prints, only the same old file folders.

Is there something she can change to get the footprints or did I just do something super cool to get the feet?

[RawBearNYC]

Is Carrie using an internet provider that caches web pages (AOL, EarthLink)? Did she try hitting F5 to refresh. In IE there's a key combination (like shift F5 or something) to really force a refresh (only locally, not if the internet provider caches).

[The Giant]

Yeah, the footprints are what is on the website now, but if her browser cached the old ones, they may not show up because they use the same file name as the old folders. If everyone force-refreshes the webpage, the footprints should show up.

IE showed the feet right away for me, btw.

[Bogotter]

The feet showed up right away for me too.

(What an odd sentence that is. I've never written that sentence before....I'm quite sure of it.)

[RawBearNYC]

If everyone force-refreshes the webpage, the footprints should show up.Some ISP's cache web files (AOL, Earthlink, etc) in the hope of speeding up the browsing experience for their end users. These files are cached on the ISP's servers and they monitor http traffic and frequently route to their own servers for the information. Unfortunately, there's nearly nothing the user can do to update the information (there's a trick with using a question mark at the end of the url, but for graphics files that can get tedious).

Mention AOL's web cacheing to any web designer and you'll hear a string of epithets (sp?) that would singe the hairs on your ancestors' heads.

[Kai]

Okay, refreshing worked.

The oddity remains that Clark and I use the SAME computer, so why they showed right up for him and not for me is a mystery...oh well...