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Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

theatlantic.com

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Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#3
> People tend to overlook the decay of the modern web, when in fact these numbers are extraordinary—they represent a comprehensive breakdown in the chain of custody for facts.

This is a particularly good quote to sum up the article. The internet is not a repository of facts, it is a repository of facts, spam, junk, and things. Moreover, it is not the only repository of these.

Link rot happens. Content is subject to the will of the publisher to spend the time and/or money to continue to host it.

Depending on links to work eternally is a mistake. The problem is not the link rot, it is the bad assumption.

Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#5

yes. i am down to HN and Reddit. Google calendar and telegram. I don't even know how to find cool stuff online anymore. Google SERPs are all business driven now unless you're research news.

All the cool stuff has gone back to IRL. Once people stopped making potato gun websites, the internet really stopped blossoming into an amazingly vibrant space. I would recommend hackaday.com because it hasn't changed in quite some time.

Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#7
post #3

> People tend to overlook the decay of the modern web, when in fact these numbers are extraordinary—they represent a comprehensive breakdown in the chain of custody for facts. This is a particularly good quote to sum up the article. The internet is not a repository of facts, it is a repository of facts, spam, junk, and things . Moreover, it is not the only repository of these. Link rot happens. Content is subject to…

It's depressing.

I know somebody who started a business that was successful for a while and then failed. Spammers got control of the domain and now it is full of ads for a dangerous diet drug.

What makes my blood boil is that it impugns the integrity of the founder who is a decent person who has nothing to do with that scam.

Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#8
post #5

yes. i am down to HN and Reddit. Google calendar and telegram. I don't even know how to find cool stuff online anymore. Google SERPs are all business driven now unless you're research news.

All the cool stuff has gone back to IRL. Once people stopped making potato gun websites, the internet really stopped blossoming into an amazingly vibrant space. I would recommend hackaday.com because it hasn't changed in quite some time.

I used to go online to escape the boring, unimaginative people and the world they create. Now I have to disconnect to escape them.

Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#9

yes. i am down to HN and Reddit. Google calendar and telegram. I don't even know how to find cool stuff online anymore. Google SERPs are all business driven now unless you're research news.

I wish there was something like Reddit that could be organized by topic, but had the simplicity of HN's design instead of the monstrocity Reddit has become. My guess is it would still succumb to the Reddit Hive Mind effect without a reasonably benevolent moderation team though. For all the times I've said that HN basically does the same thing, I have to admit that it is much better about keeping it in check.

Re: Link rot and content drift are endemic to the web

#10

yes. i am down to HN and Reddit. Google calendar and telegram. I don't even know how to find cool stuff online anymore. Google SERPs are all business driven now unless you're research news.

The article is about link rot, not cultural rot.
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