Index: docs/request_response.txt
===================================================================
--- docs/request_response.txt	(revision 6978)
+++ docs/request_response.txt	(working copy)
@@ -575,6 +575,9 @@
       to the template: ``request_path``, which is the URL that resulted
       in the 404.
 
+    * The 404 view is rendered with ``RequestContext`` and will have access to 
+      variables supplied by your ``TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS`` (e.g. MEDIA_URL).
+
     * If ``DEBUG`` is set to ``True`` (in your settings module), then your 404
       view will never be used, and the traceback will be displayed instead.
 
@@ -588,7 +591,8 @@
 
 This means you need to define a ``500.html`` template in your root template
 directory. This template will be used for all server errors. The
-default 500 view passes no variables to this template.
+default 500 view passes no variables to this template.  The default 500 view
+is rendered with an empty ``Context`` to lessen the chance of additional errors.
 
 This ``server_error`` view should suffice for 99% of Web applications, but if
 you want to override the view, you can specify ``handler500`` in your