To "favicon.ico" or not to "favicon.ico", that is the question :)
 

http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/favicon.shtml

Like Shakespear, is it better to have a 'favicon.ico' file or utilize the 404 traffic? Since the stuff is bookmarked anyway?

I don't see why you couldn't utilize the 404 traffic even if there was a favicon.ico present? Or am i missing something?

yeah i have no idea wtf that means, but i use favicons on a few of my sites, i think they are catchy, and make your bookmarks stand out among the others.

Totally don't get this. The only thing that will happen if you don't have one, is that it will show up in your logs as a missing file. Your 404 traffic won't be affected. If you don't want it to show up as missing, drop favicon.ico in your root, or if you want to track different pages, name them all something different (favicon1.ico, ebonygallery.ico, whatever.ico, etc) and put the favicon code in the header of each page, that points to wherever you put that particular favicon.

Okay now THAT'S agreeable. I've noticed that sites that use a favicon.ico get my attention more than those that don't. I cruise through my bookmarks and if I've not been at a site in a while that ico pops up at me and is like a friendly reminder. Gives a site more class I agree.

fav icon 100%... many browsers show them now even if not in favs... within 1 year I bet IE picks up on that game...

I love them!!!!!!! Lots of viewers of my site have commented how they think it's cool and how it makes my site stand out in their bookmarks.

The thing I don't get is why the icon seems to disappear after a few days. Every site I bookmark with a favicon will show up initially in my bookmarks, and a few days later it's gone:(

the icons are definately good, i have a massive favourites list and they help me find what im looking for quickly

Yes, they do make locating a bookmark fast and easy. Some fav icons are quite creative. Gotta be a way of programming a goodie there.

I think they disappear when the cache is cleared. Check your internet settings.

when the cache is cleared the icons go.. re-visit the site and the icon is back.

Thanks Dynamix.

Now if that would work with AOL's browser. AOL has this sucky browser that stores the last time you visited the site. Even refreshing won't bring up the new stuff. You've gotta shut AOL down, reboot your computer.

Most AOL folks leave their connection on for hours or days.

Are you using AOL??? If so... I'm sorry. You need to spam some CJ ads for Earthlink or something decent on your sites!!!

It is my mission in life to destroy AOL... one user at a time...

I like them. They help to stand out in the bookmarks.

I'm with you I don't see the correlation between favicon and 404 traffic.

there isnt one