FamilySearch Wiki:WikiProject Finding broken links using Pinger

Current Projects page Finding broken links on wiki pages

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to use the Pinger program to identify broken links and fix the broken links on wiki pages.

Project Contact

Danielle Batson

Task Page

None at this time

Instructions

This project is in two parts:
PART A: Using Pinger
PART B: How to find the correct links using the Wayback machine on Archive.org

Part B - Finding New Link

Step 1

Go to: https://archive.org/web/ This website has what is called a Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine has a history of what a URL used to contain.

Step 2

In the Wayback machine URL field, paste in your link and press enter.

Step 3

You will now see a calendar that lists when the webpage was archived. Choose a date that has a blue circle around it to see what the page looked like. It is suggested to try a day in the previous year. If the page shows up as a broken link, then try a date 6 months earlier until you see a web page.

Step 4

If the Wayback machine does NOT have an original version of the page, try CachedPages.com to see if it contains a copy.   Go to: http://www.cachedpages.com/ 

Delete the http:// in the Enter URL field and paste the broken URL.

Step 5

• Once you find the old webpage, go to Google and searching for the new URL. Try taking the beginning portion of the URL to locate a possible page. Also try googling some key words on the old page along with the first part of the URL.  '
• For the broken link: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/marriage.html from the Wayback Machine you see the words: the name of the website: Illinois State Archives and the database it’s linking to: Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
• Type in google: Illinois state archives statewide marriage index 1763-1900
• Try out each of the URLS until you find a good match. For this example, the correct match is: http://www.ilsos.gov/isavital/marriagesrch.jsp

Step 6

With the correct new URL, go to the wiki county page and replace the broken link with the new one you have found.  Be sure to check the page once you have updated it to be sure the new link you added works.

If you are unable to locate a new link for the broken one, go to the county page and remove the information pertaining to that link (the URL and any description).