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jonbeton / pick-of-the-week

Everything you always wanted to know about the Smashing Security picks-of-the-week
https://www.smashingsecurity.com/
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Dead link removal? #6

Open gcluley opened 4 years ago

gcluley commented 4 years ago

Hi. I'm really grateful and impressed by the effort everyone has gone to here. Thanks so much!

One thing that has come to my attention is that some episodes have had "dead links" removed from them.

This came to my attention in an episode featuring Troy Hunt where I knew he'd had a pick of the week, but saw it had been removed from this listing.

I'm guessing that's because the reviewer couldn't access the link.

However, I'm not sure removing the link is the correct action:

1) anyone checking the list won't be able to find the episode where that POTW was discussed.

2) it looks like the entry is incorrect (I think of this as a list of POTWs as discussed on the show, not a list of POTWs with still working links)

3) do we really want to be in the business of checking if links have expired for past episodes not just now but into the future?

4) maybe the link might be dead at the moment, but it could come back. Or even if dead it might help folks find the resource discussed in the future.

5) there is no number 5.

So my vote would be not to be get rid of dead links.

What do you think? Thanks again all and sorry for being a pain.

nathan-embedism commented 4 years ago

Agreed that they shouldn't be deleted.

I put in wayback machine links and links to a similar video which I thought would be a good substitute on that episode. Another contributor removed the links but they did not pull in my changes beforehand so wouldn't have seen that I had substituted them.

Would it be worth "preserving" the original link too or is this not worth it?

PaleSkinnySwede commented 4 years ago

I first added (broken link) as a comment on the links that didn’t work but then I read the guideline and removed the links. Sorry. I also agree that the links should stay but with a comment that their not working any longer. One could google for an alternative instead if interested.

Another example is that Mozy have been acquired so that link will redirect to a new online backup vendor.

nathan-embedism commented 4 years ago

I think a broken link comment is good. Take a look at what I did for EP 49 - what do we reckon?

gcluley commented 4 years ago

Thanks all!

So, I think preserving the original link is acceptable, and I don't think we should put effort into scuttling about finding replacement links. If folks like the notion of pointing out that some links are known to be broken, then lets place it at the end of the line, but not have it as part of the hyperlink. See the version of episode 49 that I've just committed.

My feeling is that most people will use this resource to find out where a particular Pick of the Week was discussed, and set them in the right direction to find out more if they wish. I don't feel it should be a living document where all past links are checked and rechecked and replaced if they become broken. Folks are smart enough to find a search engine or their preferred online marketplace if they want to buy something they hear about on the show.

TFWol commented 4 years ago

Agreed about keeping old links as an archive.

Trying to maintain a live list of urls would eventually wear down any 'maintainers' over time leading to inconsistencies or loss of interest.

Maybe keep a disclaimer in the repo indicating to practice due diligence when navigating older episode urls. Optionally, there could be tips like 'use wayback machine', 'google cache', 'listen to the episode for context', etc.

Although, I believe the majority of listeners are familiar with this kind of stuff.