I have been using the fantastic XHTML Quick Reference from “ddcc” at MIT for years. It’s a fantastic resource: a hypertext reference to all the elements of XHTML 1.1 and their allowed attributes.
Or, it was. Today when I clicked my bookmark, I got a “File Not Found” response. I guess “ddcc” whoever he or she is, has left MIT. But I really need that guide!
I’ll just google it! But I can’t find it copied anywhere. How about Google’s cache? Hooray, it’s there! But, of course, the links don’t work. I see in the cache that the whole guide can be downloaded, but the download link doesn’t work. Why didn’t I download a copy when I could?
Hmm… when I could… The Internet Archive Wayback Machine to the rescue. Just put the URL that used to work in the search box, and get links to how the page looked on various dates. I could probably just change my bookmark to the latest copy, but there’s an even better option: the download link works here! The Wayback Machine fixes the links, and points to its own archived copy of the file. Thanks, Mr. Peabody!
And so I don’t lose it again, I’ve put a copy of the guide on my website. The download link even works there, so you can grab a copy for yourself, too. The document is offered under the GNU Free Documentation License, so it’s perfectly okay for you to copy it.
Charles Engelke's Blog 