Is there any value to using a
trailing slash on directory names? Excellent question!
When you make a request for a web page that is really a directory, Apache sees the request, translates the url and sees that /02 is really a directory and not a filename.
It then passes '/02' to the alias sub-system and then sends back a redirect to add the ending forward slash to the directory.
This all happens behind the scenes and you never really notice that your browser is making two requests.
For example, type in http://www.websecurity.mobi into your favorite browser and you'll get back http://www.websecurity.mobi/
The correct way to represent a directory is with the forward slash '/' and some
SEO's claim that it helps you rank higher. I don't subscribe to that and have never worried about it - no matter how you write it, it will come out the correct way.
Perhaps if you have a large site with a tons of traffic, you would notice a slight speed increase by removing the extra call, but I think it would be minimal.
If you are going to start from scratch (new links), then use the forward slash on the directory. If you already have a site not using the forward slash, no big deal.
Hope that helps,
Regards,
Jim.