Skip to content

robots.txt resource page: an empty Allow line does not disallow everything #569

Open

Description

@bensynapse

The robots.txt resource page (https://digital.gov/resources/introduction-robots-txt-files) says:

Use Allow: to allow nothing. In other words, use it to disallow everything.

An Allow: line with no path doesn't block anything. Google's robots.txt documentation puts it this way:

When no path is specified, the rule is ignored.

Someone following the page to block a site would leave it open.

Suggested wording: "An Allow: line with no path has no effect. Use Disallow: / to block everything."

Sources:

I run Synapse.

Activity

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

      Milestone

      No milestone

      Relationships

      None yet

      Development

      No branches or pull requests

      Issue actions