[cynwoody]

Biggirl was essentially asking why she could not see the full URL on the address bar in Safari. This is actually a safety and security measure for all of us. When we connect to a CERTIFIED Website, meaning one where there is a CERTIFICATE on file that the website is actually the REAL website to which we actually wished to connect, we will see only the NAME of the website.

That advice applies to HTTPS sites. FR does not use HTTPS. Attempting to connect to FR via HTTPS fails with ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED, meaning it heard you knock on port 443 but it doesn't want to talk.

The more common scenario is, you connect to your bank on port 80, but it immediately redirects your browser to a secure connection on port 443.

[Swordmaker]

That advice applies to HTTPS sites. FR does not use HTTPS. Attempting to connect to FR via HTTPS fails with ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED, meaning it heard you knock on port 443 but it doesn't want to talk.

No, that is not the case. It applies to legitimate sites. If someone were to SPOOF the URL of FreeRepublic, then the entire URL would be displayed, not just the name "freerepublic.com". If the URL is being spoofed, Safari will display the actual URL. It has nothing to do with HTTPS. . .

What I wrote is how Safari's address bar works. If you are being connected to a site that is not what it purports to be, you will see the entire URL so that you can check it for authenticity. If it is the correct site, you will only see the primary Domain name.