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A comment on “Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, rendering them useless. Parent comment

Re:“Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, renderin... by aaaaaaaaaaab on Monday June 27, 2022 @02:15PM (#31898453)
It's idempotent. Your account won't get un-verified if you open the verification link twice.

Idempotent != side-effect free

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:“Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, renderin... by dragonwriter on Monday June 27, 2022 @05:56PM (#31901379)
GET is supposed to be safe as well as idempotent though.

Request methods are considered "safe" if their defined semantics are essentially read-only; i.e., the client does not request, and does not expect, any state change on the origin server as a result of applying a safe method to a target resource. (RFC 7231, § 4.2.1)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:“Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, renderin... by capableweb on Monday June 27, 2022 @04:16PM (#31900187)
It's not though. Loading the page twice creates two different outcomes. Idempotent endpoints can't.

!Idempotent != Reversal of changes

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:“Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, renderin... by aaaaaaaaaaab on Monday June 27, 2022 @04:38PM (#31900458)
What are the two different outcomes?

1. You open the link once = your account is verified

2. You open the link twice = your account is still verified

???

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:“Magic links” can end up in Bing search results, renderin... by adamckay on Monday June 27, 2022 @05:48PM (#31901306)
If it's a magic link for logging in:

1. You open the link once = you're logged in

2. You open the link twice = you're presented with an error that the magic link has already been used.

[ Parent | on HN ]