Re: 403 vs. 400 response from server?

Paul Phillips (paulp@cerf.net)
Fri, 14 Apr 1995 14:56:29 +0500

My spec indicates that 403 implies greater server understanding than 400
does. A 403 means the server tried to service the request, and failed,
while a 400 means that the server knew based on the request that it would
fail.

There does seem to be some abiguity here, but both codes instruct the
client not to repeat the request, so I don't think it's critical.

-PSP

On Fri, 14 Apr 1995, Mike Meyer wrote:

> Can someone explain where one should use a 403 response versus a 400
> response? Is using 400 only for mailformed requests, and 400 for
> requests with a command that isn't understood a reasonable
> interpretation?
>
> Thanx,
> <mike
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