Help:Using WebCite: Difference between revisions

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{{ambox|type=content|text='''As of July 14, 2019, WebCite does not accept any new archive requests; previously archived pages can still be accessed, but this service cannot be used to make any new archives.'''}}

{{Wikipedia how to|WP:WEBCITE}}

[[WebCite]] is an intermittently available [[web archiving]] service located at [https://www.webcitation.org/ https://www.webcitation.org/]. The archive no longer accepts new snapshots, and usage on English Wikipedia has been deprecated ([[Wikipedia:Village_pump_(proposals)/Archive_159#RfC:_Deprecate_webcitation.org_aka_WebCite|RfC]]) ie. without good reason you should not add new archives into Enwiki, and you should try to move existing snapshots to other archive providers, or refactor the citation to a different live link. WebCite's future is uncertain, and its reliability is poor. For example it was offline for 1 year and 8 months during the period 2021-2023. Outages are tracked on the talk page of [[WebCite]].

This page gives information about using [[WebCite]], which is an on-demand [[web archiving]] service. It is located at [http://www.webcitation.org http://www.webcitation.org]. By using [[WebCite]], Wikipedia editors can reduce [[link rot]] by preserving a copy of an online [[WP:RS|source]] that can be accessed if the original page is moved, changes, or disappears. Not all web pages can be archived, however.

==Long-form URLs==

WebCite can archive a range of content, including [[HTML]] web pages, [[PDF]] files, [[style sheets]], [[JavaScript]], and [[digital image]]s. Another web archiving service is the [[Wikipedia:Using the Wayback Machine|Wayback Machine]]. The two operate differently, and certain pages can be archived by one but not the other. The Wayback Machine takes snapshots of webpages at certain times; WebCite requires someone to actively archive a link.

Links archived with [[WebCite]] should appear in long format (see [[Wikipedia_talk:Using_archive.is#RfC:_Should_we_use_short_or_long_format_URLs.3F|RfC]]).

An example long format URL:

==How to archive==

At the [http://www.webcitation.org/archive WebCite archive form], users identify the URL they wish to archive, as well as additional source-identifying information. WebCite requires users to submit an email address that will receive a confirmation or failure email. WebCite will then send you to a page with the links to your archived webpage.

:<code><nowiki>https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/</nowiki></code>

Previously archived web pages are accessible through a searchable database. Users may search by URL, date, or by "Snapshot ID".

The 9-digit "Snapshot ID," similar to [[URL shortening]] services, contains a base 62 coded timestamp that can be extracted by bots and other programs. It also serves as a unique page ID. This is followed by the original URL which helps protect against malicious code that is hiding an inappropriate link, such as spam.

==Use within Wikipedia==

Links archived with [[WebCite]] may appear in two forms. The first format displays the original URL and the date of archiving within the URL itself: <code><nowiki>http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.example.com&date=2009-11-04</nowiki></code>. The second form uses a 9-digit [[hexadecimal]] "Snapshot ID," similar to [[URL shortening]] services, to provide a more convenient link: <code><nowiki>http://www.webcitation.org/XXXXXXXXX</nowiki></code> Either is appropriate for use within Wikipedia. This URL can be inserted into the <code><nowiki>archiveurl=</nowiki></code> and its supporting <code><nowiki>archivedate=</nowiki></code> parameters in any of the [[Wikipedia:Citation templates|citation templates]].

This archive URL can be inserted into the <code>archive-url=</code> and its supporting <code>archive-date=</code> and <code>url-status=</code> parameters in any of the [[Wikipedia:Citation templates|citation templates]]. If the original URL is [[Wikipedia:Link rot|no longer accessible]], the <code>url-status</code> parameter value should be set to <code>dead</code>. If the original URL is still accessible, the <code>url-status</code> parameter value should be set to <code>live</code>.

<nowiki><ref>{{Cite web|last= |first= |title= |work= |publisher= |date= |url= |archiveurl= |archivedate= }}</ref></nowiki>

<code><nowiki><ref>{{Citecite web |last= |first= |title= |work= |publisher= |date= |url= |archiveurlarchive-url= |archivedatearchive-date= |url-status= }}</ref></nowiki></code>.

==Searching for previously archived web pages==

Web pages previously archived a WebCite can be found through a search form at https://www.webcitation.org/query

There is also an API. Please contact [[User:GreenC]] for information how this works.

==Moving to a different provider==

You can help [[Wikipedia:Village_pump_(proposals)/Archive_159#RfC:_Deprecate_webcitation.org_aka_WebCite|deprecate WebCite!]]

Ideas to get rid of WebCite links:

# Search archive.org and archive.today - although bots already did this, bots are sometimes imperfect and a manual search could find something the bots missed.

# Find a different origin URL on the live web. For example, if the origin URL is to a Reuters story published in the NYT, there is a good chance that same Reuters story is available elsewhere. Use Google to search.

# Saving the WebCite link at archive.today works well and is recommended, however .. '''do not save at archive.org''' see "Things to be cautious of" below.

# PDF files at WebCite do not save correctly at archive.today

Saving a WebCite URL at archive.today follow these steps:

# Save https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org at archive.today which will generate short-form URL https://archive.today/Jrvg8

# URL shortening is disallowed on Wikipedia; click the "share" button to see the long form: https://archive.today/20070710111036/https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org

# A potential [[SNAFU]] is there might also be https://archive.today/20070710111036/http://www.birdlife.org but this will probably contain different content then what you just saved at https://archive.today/20070710111036/https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org

Things to be cautious of:

* It is not possible to save WebCite URLs at archive.org - it may appear to save correctly, but is an unreliable method. For why see [[Talk:WebCite#general_problem|this discussion]].

* Be aware of "content drift". When a web page has content that changes over time, such as stock prices or weather updates, this is called "drift". When the original WebCite snapshot was created it contains the intended information eg. current status of a typhoon at a certain day and hour. However, this page may change quickly, and any future snapshot of that same page will have different information. Thus when finding snapshots at other archive providers, be aware of content drift for certain types of pages.

==See also==

* [[Wikipedia:Link rot]], how-to guide for prevention of link rot

*[[Template:WebCite]], for linking

* [[Help:Archiving a source]], how-to guide

*[[Template:User WebCite]], userbox

** [[WikipediaHelp:Using the Wayback Machine]], how-to guide

*[[User:WebCiteBOT]], automatic URL archiving bot

** [[Help:Using archive.today]]

*[[Wikipedia:Link rot]], how-to guide for prevention of link rot

** [[Talk:Perma.cc#Perma.cc_and_Wikipedia|Using Perma.cc]]

*[[Wikipedia:Using the Wayback Machine]], how-to guide

==Notes==

{{Reflist|group="nb"}}

[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|{{PAGENAME}}]]