LINK ROT
Says John
Shores: "Link rot is a problem, and it costs all of
us in lost resources, lost productivit, and lost creativity.
Link Rot" in its simplest form is the failure of an existing
link on a web page (hot link, URL, clickable link) to connect
to the intended resource elsewhere on the Web."
There can be several causes for this failure. At the physical
level, the target web server might be temporarily or permanently
unavailable, the electronic connection cannot be made, or perhaps
the institution might have ceased to exist. These are "hard"
failures. Much more than just the link in question has been
affected.
We use the name "link rot" because of more direct
human manipulation or inaction: a domain name changes, web site
is redesigned, or a resource is deleted from the web site. These
are "soft" failures. For an example, consult the original
domain
of the 2002 Ecotourism Summit, now a cable descrambler.
HOW TO REPORT DEAD
LINKS
If you find a dead link, report it to the webmaster. If you
spot a dead link on Planeta, report
it!
Suggested protocol:
Provide the URL of the page in question.
Provide the URL of the dead link in question
Provide the correct URL (if you know it).
EXAMPLES
Here are two examples of emails that provided adequate information
for making a correction:
When I clicked "environmental links" from this page
the result was:
'HTTP 404 - File not found'
I got a 'not authorized to view this page' message when on
page the link under related websites.
|
Acapulco Tianguis -- http://www.tianguisacapulco.com
