In web archiving, an archive site is a website that stores information on, or the actual, webpages from the past for anyone to view.
Contents
Common techniques
Two common techniques for archiving web sites are using a web crawler or soliciting user submissions:
- Using a web crawler: By using a web crawler (e.g., the Internet Archive) the service will not depend on an active community for its content, and thereby can build a larger database faster. This can result in the community's growing larger as well.[why?][citation needed] However, web crawlers are only able to index and archive information the public has chosen to post to the Internet[citation needed], or that is available to be crawled, as web site developers and system administrators have the ability to block web crawlers from accessing [certain] web pages (using a robots.txt).[citation needed]
- User submissions: While it can be difficult to start user submissions services due to potentially low rates of user submission, this system can yield some of the best results.[citation needed] By crawling web pages one is only able to obtain the information the public has chosen to post online; however, potential content providers may not bother to post certain information, assuming no one would be interested in it[citation needed], because they lack a proper venue in which to post it[citation needed], or because of copyright concerns.[1] However, users who see someone wants their information may be more apt to submit it.[citation needed]
Examples
Google Groups
On February 12, 2001, Google acquired the usenet discussion group archives from Deja.com and turned it into their Google Groups service [1]. They allow users to search old discussions with Google's search technology, while still allowing users to post to the mailing lists.[citation needed]
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive (Internet Archive official website) is building a compendium of websites and digital media. Starting in 1996, the Archive has been employing a web crawler to build up their database. They are one of the best known archive sites.[citation needed]
NBCUniversal Archives
NBCUniversal Archives offer access to exclusive content from NBCUniversal and its subsidiaries. Their NBCUniversal Archives official website provides easy viewing of past and recent news clips, and it is a prime example of a news archive.[citation needed]
Nextpoint
Nextpoint offers an automated cloud-based, SaaS for marketing, compliance, and litigation related needs including electronic discovery.[citation needed]
PANDORA Archive
PANDORA (Pandora Archive), founded in 1996 by the National Library of Australia, stands for Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia, which encapsulates their mission. They provide a long-term catalog of select online publications and web sites authored by Australians or that are of an Australian topic. They employ their PANDAS (PANDORA Digital Archiving System) when building their catalog.[citation needed]
textfiles.com
textfiles.com (textfiles.com official website) is a large library of old text files maintained by Jason Scott Sadofsky. Its mission is to archive the old documents that had floated around the bulletin board systems (BBS) of his youth and to document other people's experiences on the bulletin board systems.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ Jinfang Niu, University of South Florida (March–April 2012). "An Overview of Web Archiving". D-Lib Magazine 18 (3/4). doi:10.1045/march2012-niu1.