Evidence and sources · QUICK REFERENCE
Using archived webpages carefully
Archived pages can help reconstruct what a website displayed in the past. Record the archive timestamp and original address, and check whether key images, links or policy sections are missing. Treat the captured page as historical material with technical limitations.
A practical checklist
- Keep the archive URL with its timestamp.
- Check whether the relevant text is complete.
- Distinguish capture time from original publication time.
Putting it in context
If a policy page was archived in March but contains no publication date, describe it as visible in the March capture. Do not invent a date when the policy first took effect.
Keep in mind
An incomplete archive cannot establish everything that was on the original website.
References & further reading
The checklist and examples are original editorial guidance. External links provide background within their stated scope; they do not validate an individual operator or case.
- Operator Atlas: research methodologyOur original editorial method
- ACMA: formal warning to BlockDance B.V. (BC.Game)Australia · historical warning dated 17 October 2022
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