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I propose a slight modification to this template. How about adding "(backup link on Archive.org)". Where backup link becomes http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/ + the link, if archive link is not explicitly specified. And probably this change needs to be done when the load on the server is low, as this may purge the cache of every single page. CylonU87 10:42, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
- Agreed! Also, I think Google keeps an active cache of older pages too, but I'm not sure if it is as comprehensive or permanent as the Wayback Machine. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 11:02, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
- Yes, Google keeps a cache at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache + : + link, but their cache does not go as old a the Wayback Machine. Also, the Wayback Machine kind of promises a permanent archive. So, I would suggest a using the Internet Archive, but I you wish to provide a second backup link to Google's cache, that too is fine with me. So, I suppose you would like to make this change yourself when there is a lesser load on the system. CylonU87 11:31, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
- I can make the changes. I'll try to get to it tonight. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 11:46, 18 August 2011 (EDT)
- Changes made. Just use "archive=Y" and it'll automatically link to Archive.org. (See: Faith) -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 15:05, 19 August 2011 (EDT)
- I was under the impression that this will be done by default to all the citations across the wiki, without any explicit, archive=Y statement. That would eliminate the need for someone to check each link for link rot. CylonU87 10:27, 20 August 2011 (EDT)
- Nope, the template isn't "smart" enough to determine if the link is dead or not. It would have to be tested manually. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 10:42, 20 August 2011 (EDT)
- Ah, I see what you are saying... we could do "backup link" as being linked Archive.org. However, if the link is truly dead, then the first link wouldn't work and would need to be updated manually anyway... -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 10:44, 20 August 2011 (EDT)
- Unless you have a Bot to do that, doing that manually is crazy. Say we have a thousand links pointing to Syfy.com. Syfy does a website redesign and all those thousand links break on the same day. Having a backup link by default will at least give non editing visitors, something to refer to. CylonU87 10:51, 20 August 2011 (EDT)
- True enough. It's an easy change to make, and I should be able to implement it shortly. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate 10:59, 20 August 2011 (EDT)