The problem of unmaintained or relocated URLs is a major one. In one major collection of around 150 I created in October 1994, only around 80 were still operational one year later. Furthermore, as an author, if you decide to move to a new server or indeed a new institute, it is almost impossible for you to notify everyone who might have linked to you. We all thought URNs were the problem, but for reasons I do not fully understand (expense?) these are not functional yet. However, PURLs are! See e.g. http://purl.oclc.org/net/intercat Here purl.oclc.org is a URL resolver. Register your URL with them (and re-register if it moves) and in theory everyone will continue to be able to find your documents. This is much implication for journals, and all other sorts of permanent or semi-permanent documents. The system is not quite working yet, but it will soon be so! More info when I get it. Dr Henry Rzepa, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2AY; rzepa@ic.ac.uk via Eudora Pro 2.1.3; Tel (44) 171 594 5774; Fax: (44) 171 594 5804. World-Wide Web URL: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/ ----- chemweb: A list for Chemical Applications of the Internet. Archived as: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/chemweb/ To unsubscribe, send to listserver@ic.ac.uk the following message; unsubscribe chemweb List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (rzepa@ic.ac.uk)
On Tue, 9 Jan 1996 h.rzepa@ic.ac.uk wrote:
The problem of unmaintained or relocated URLs is a major one. In one major collection of around 150 I created in October 1994, only around 80 were still operational one year later.
Furthermore, as an author, if you decide to move to a new server or indeed a new institute, it is almost impossible for you to notify everyone who might have linked to you.
I know this problem only too well and it gets worse in the future.
We all thought URNs were the problem, but for reasons I do not fully understand (expense?) these are not functional yet.
Presumably these require either a central register and/or a DNS-like system?
However, PURLs are! See e.g. http://purl.oclc.org/net/intercat
Here purl.oclc.org is a URL resolver. Register your URL
It seems to resolve itself (!) into http://www.oclc.org:6990 and there is no mention of PURLs! Also they have a search engine and "PURL" gets no hits. However , I am a supporter of OCLC and I am sure this is only a temporary problem. Did you have more info? - where did it come from?
with them (and re-register if it moves) and in theory everyone will continue to be able to find your documents. This is much implication for journals, and all other sorts of permanent or semi-permanent documents.
Someone has to pay for this - how's it going to work? If we see URLs as a superset of DNS names, it's clear that there will have to be distributed servers for PURLs along the lines of DNS but more so. There will be many more PURLs than telephone numbers in the world unless only the toplevel is taken.
The system is not quite working yet, but it will soon be so!
More info when I get it.
Look forward to it!
Dr Henry Rzepa, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, LONDON SW7 2AY; rzepa@ic.ac.uk via Eudora Pro 2.1.3; Tel (44) 171 594 5774; Fax: (44) 171 594 5804. World-Wide Web URL: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/
----- chemweb: A list for Chemical Applications of the Internet. Archived as: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/chemweb/ To unsubscribe, send to listserver@ic.ac.uk the following message; unsubscribe chemweb List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (rzepa@ic.ac.uk)
Peter Murray-Rust, Glaxo Research & Dev. (pmr1716@ggr.co.uk); (BioMOO: PeterMR) Birkbeck College, ubcg09q@cryst.bbk.ac.uk, CBMT/Daresbury mbglx@seqnet.dl.ac.uk http://www.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/PPS/index.html, http://www.dl.ac.uk/CBMT/HOME.html ----- chemweb: A list for Chemical Applications of the Internet. Archived as: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/hypermail/chemweb/ To unsubscribe, send to listserver@ic.ac.uk the following message; unsubscribe chemweb List coordinator, Henry Rzepa (rzepa@ic.ac.uk)
participants (2)
-
h.rzepaļ¼ ic.ac.uk
-
peter Murray-rust