Robots.txt is a suicide note (2011)
6 days ago
- #internet-history
- #ROBOTS.TXT
- #web-archiving
- ROBOTS.TXT is criticized as an outdated and unnecessary protocol in the modern web era.
- Archive Team ignores ROBOTS.TXT files and encourages others to do the same.
- ROBOTS.TXT was created in the early 1990s to prevent web crawlers from overwhelming servers, a problem that no longer exists.
- The file can lead to the loss of historically important data by preventing archiving and mirroring.
- The only valid use for ROBOTS.TXT is to prevent automated processes from triggering unwanted actions on a website, indicating a need for configuration fixes.
- Archive Team views ROBOTS.TXT as a hindrance to preserving online history and advocates for its removal.