The google accelerator story has been rushing around like wildfire. For some reason, people seem to be saying that google is right and that some peoples web apps are wrong? Bollocks.

One of the most common uses for any web application is to customise it to who is logged in. This is usually done using a cookie. As soon as a cookie like that is involved, any GET is going to be returning dynamically generated content. And guess what - there IS no side effect here. The same GET with the same cookie -will- return the same result.

Now let's take another example. You load up page A which shows information about Bob. You then go to the admin system and change the details of Bob. Then then go back to the page which shows information about Bob. What will google accelerator do? - it'll show you the -old- information about Bob. Regardless of HTTP Cache* headers, this is wrong behaviour. A true GET request to the original server will yield the true result - the new information about Bob.

Get real Google. Pull this product before you cripple the entire concept behind web applications.