i've installed phbb on my site. the forum worked fine, but the strangest thing i've found out is that these URL are NOT the same;
1. http://jerantut.com.my/forum/
2. http://jerantut.com.my/forum

the second URL will display me an error msg. why? arent they are supposed to have the same meaning?

thanks

I'm no expert on this but I'll try to explain it the way I understand it

When you supply a URL with an explicit filename, the page shows up with minmal extra work for the server.

The URL with trailing slash makes the server work a little extra. It recognizes the last part of the URL as a directory because it has a slash after it. However, there is no filename stated. So the server looks for the default filenames:

index.htm
index.html
default.htm
default.html

You can change this default setting on the server to another filename (don't ask me how)

When a server first sees a URL without an explicit filename or trailing slash, it first checks to see if it is a filename. So, in this case, the server checks the root directory on http://jerantut.com.my/forum to see if there is a filename called forum. If it finds that file, then it will be displayed. However, if it does not find a file by that name, it will assume it is a subdirectory. It will try to find the forum subdirectory and then the default filename within the directory.

I had this saved on my computer, I can't find the URL from where I got this info. I think it was a universty in Australia or a Library service in US.... If anyone know the site let me know so I can give proper credit.

Nils

Also, please ensure that you PUT a file called Index.html in each and every folder (even an empty file will do ). That will not expose your files.

Your might be prone to the following risks :-
1> Folder containing php files can be abused and you might get hacked.
2> If it contains Images, there are more chances of Hotlinking and you will lose your BW.
3> You expose secret files and even sub-directories.