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(I am surprised, why so many people downvoted this)

Well, we see that many many posts include 3rd party links (recommendations, tutorials, typical text content and etc...).

Then the post may get high votes, but after 1-2 year, the link, mentioned in that post, may be deleted.. So, we don't know what there happened..

So, every 3rd party link should be automatically followed with "LAST VERSION" (or something else) comment:

http://example.com/page/how-to-make-blabla (last version )

OR that archived link should be attached in the bottom of the post, like 

3rd party links backup, used in this post:
1) ....
2) ....

and that last version, should be the link to Google Cached (or archive.org) of that page... (Invent anything you want, I am just giving google cache as an example! If you have better choice, then tell me, if not, then stop downvoting!)

So, We will save many helpful posts from recycling.

P.S. To the people who downvoted - I will say that there are thousands of posts based on 3rd party links (and actually, all those posts are very useful - thanks to authors). So, we will never avoid 3rd party links, and the content (written there) is essential! Often, we can't paste the content of 3rd party links directly here, it is not convenient. At least, the archive will last a bit longer, so it is better, than nothing. And if the archive page will be removed too from google, then ok, nothing disaster is that.

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13
  • 1
    This request is similar to this, and this, and related
    – rene
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:27
  • 3
    No need to get offensive, I guess...
    – rene
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:32
  • 5
    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's just a pointless rant.
    – Shadow Wizard Is Sad And Angry
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:35
  • @ShadowWizard added the rant tag.
    – ᔕᖺᘎᕊ
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:39
  • 5
    TAZO TODUA - READ THE TAG WIKI FOR THE rant TAG - AND STOP SHOUTING. It's annoying and probably doubles the downvotes you receive.
    – ᔕᖺᘎᕊ
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:39
  • @ᔕᖺᘎᕊ who is shouting? ...please, stop off-topics
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:44
  • 5
    @tazotodua You were shouting, in revisions 3 through 5. ᔕᖺᘎᕊ was kind enough to rewrite what you typed, without the shouting.
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:46
  • 1
    As for the downvotes, many (most?) of the downvotes are probably because people disagree with the feature you are suggesting.
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:53
  • I just used uppercase letters, to express better. however, you understood it like I were fierced and shouting. well, joke :D . even , i dont know, if you understood other things correctly, what i said. thanks anyway.bye.
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:53
  • 3
    Writing in upper case is commonly taken as SHOUTING on the Internet.
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:55
  • @rene thanks, you were the only commiter here.
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:00
  • 6
    @tazotodua sure thing, MSE is just one big joke.
    – Shadow Wizard Is Sad And Angry
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:02
  • 2
    @tazotodua Please read How do I write a good answer? - "Provide context for links Links to external resources are encouraged, but please add context around the link so your fellow users will have some idea what it is and why it’s there. Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the target site is unreachable or goes permanently offline". If this advice is followed there is no need for your feature request.
    – DavidPostill
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:33

2 Answers 2

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5

Google Cache is a cache; it is not an archive. Additionally, Google Cache is also off site, and thus subject to many of the same problems as other off-site links.

Link-only answers are already not answers and should be flagged, edited and/or deleted (depending on fixability, severity and one's own reputation on the site). Answers should include the relevant information such that the external links are for additional reference only and not necessary in order to understand the answer.

Encouraging off-site links which are necessary to understand the answer is exactly the wrong thing to do. If anything, it is my belief that we should somehow be moving in the opposite direction.

Or I could phrase the above as:

See this and this.

Which is rather not helpful without following the links. Context helps.

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  • 2
    @tazotodua That it happens doesn't make it right. People kill each other, too; that doesn't make killing the right thing to do. See those other MSE posts I referenced if you want more of a discussion on why link-only answers (of different kinds) are something we try to avoid.
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:37
  • well, you have no understanding of me. i will stop arguing. p.s. If 3rd party links are not permitied (as a bad parallel to "KILL"-ing), then disable that at all (like KILL).
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:40
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    @tazotodua Off-site links are definitely permitted, but they should not constitute the bulk of the answer. That's exactly what both the questions I linked to explain in detail. The example of killing was one that people in most cultures can readily agree is wrong, yet it still happens, so the fact that something happens doesn't mean it is right.
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 11:43
  • oky, lets forget about killing. if 3rd party links are permited, why it is not a good idea, to backup that 3rd party link too. the fact is surprising to me, that, what negatives you see in the fact, if they will be archived. i.e. another method can be, if that archived link should be attached in the bottom of the post, like 3rd party links backup, used in this post: 1) .... 2) ....
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:09
4

Desperately trying to keep off-site resource alive is the wrong approach. SE isn't forum which links the entire web together and where you keep stepping though the list of links until you find your answer. It is a knowledge base for questions and answers. I think SE could (and should) even survive without any external links.

If questions and answers stand on their own, and have a high quality by themselves, the external resource isn't that important any more. If a post's only useful information is a link, it should be deleted, not preserved by some caching mechanism.

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4
  • do you know why it is mistake? SE should not be a different world, but a part of this world, and it cant include all the WEB, but it should USE the other resources posted throughout the web. (tutorials and etc.. can be copied into SE answers). So, the best way is to invent the most optimal way. and that is what i thought- keeping the answered link's contents backup-ed.
    – T.Todua
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:13
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    Just like all those other Q/A forums? No, they have proven not to work.
    – Patrick Hofman
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:13
  • 2
    @tazotodua "SE should not be a different world" Do you not think there are enough forums out there already? Stack Exchange sites are different because the world desperately needed something different - something better!
    – James
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:37
  • 3
    xkcd.com/979 (legitimate!)
    – user
    Jul 27, 2015 at 12:47

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