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Where did that webpage go?

The What was that URL again? trilogy

We've observed that a signifcant number of ALIAnet users are looking for material on ALIAnet using addresses which are out-of-date or incorrect. Our informative 'file not found' page (What was that URL again?), our URL-guessing web server, and our automatic relocators are all employed to help guide users to up-to-date information. Unfortunately, they don't always succeed, so we've developed the What was that URL again? trilogy as an additional resource those who just can't find what they are looking for.

Episode 1. The shifting sands of ALIAnet
We are constantly reviewing the structure of ALIAnet in an effort to make it as logical as possible. As part of that process, many large sections of ALIAnet have moved to new locations which better reflect their place within the organisation. For example, all divisional journals (such as AARL and Orana) have been moved to new homes within the pages of the ALIA division which published them.

To compensate for all the reshuffling, we sprinkle relocators here and there to guide people to new locations. Unfortunately we cannot place relocators for every page that has been moved or renamed (in some cases hundreds at a time). If you have a bookmark leading to a page which no longer exists, work backwards along the URL until you come across a relocator, and then follow the links to the new location.

From time to time, we also re-name webpages to allow for a more logical way of adding material to a particular section, or to better reflect the nature of the pages. The strategy outlined above should also be applied in these cases.

Episode 2. Date formats
Until earlier this year, ALIAnet contained many URLs in the format http://archive.alia.org.au/branch/newsletter/9704/ where '9704' referred to a year and month in which the newsletter was issued. The same applied for many other ALIA publications (journals, briefs, submissions and so on...).

In the spirit of year 2000 date format compliance, URL's with the above date format have now been updated to a 'full year' format - 9704 has been replaced by either 199704 or 1997.04. We will eventually standardise everything in the 1997.04 format, just for added clarity.

Episode 3. Scrambled URL's
The final episode in the 'ALIAnet page not found' trilogy revolves around scrambled URLs. We've picked up an alarming amount of requests for URLs that just don't exist, and are often scrambled in some way (for example http://archive.alia.org.au/alia.house.html/branches/vic/mentoring/index.html - note that 'alia.house.html' does not belong in the path given ) . These erroneous addresses can be caused by the 'autocomplete' feature found in modern web browsers - they don't always get it right, so make sure your URL is valid, even if your browser has filled it in for you.

Non-ALIAnet search engines are another good source of scrambled and out-of-date URLs. If you're looking for material you think may be held on ALIAnet, try our own ALIAnet search.