{"id":630,"slug":"link-rot-mitigation-9-step-plan","title":"CANDID REFERENCE: 9-step link-rot mitigation plan — archive on capture, verbatim quote, persistent IDs, quarterly check","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","dev","candid-team"],"topics":["longevity-architecture","citation-practices"],"reference_body":"**Empirical assumption:** any web citation has a meaningful probability of breaking within 5 years (Zittrain 2014, NYT 15-year half-life — [[nyt-link-half-life-15-years-13pct-content-drift]]).\n\n## The 9-step Candid link-rot mitigation plan\n\n1. **Capture an archive snapshot at citation time** — archive.org Save Page Now, Perma.cc. Store the archive URL alongside the original.\n2. **Prefer persistent identifiers:** DOIs, ISBNs, government document numbers, regulatory filing IDs.\n3. **Cite the most stable host:** Wikipedia (revision permalink), .gov, .edu, established publishers.\n4. **Quote the source verbatim, don't just link.** A ≤25-word direct quote in the citation means the claim survives link death and can be searched in archives. **Highest-leverage practice.**\n5. **Quarterly automated link-checker** on the KB.\n6. **Quarterly manual spot-check** of high-importance citations.\n7. **Own-domain mirror (PDF) of critical external sources** where copyright/fair-use permits.\n8. **Date every citation** (\"as of May 2026\" / \"retrieved May 2026\").\n9. **Update `dateModified` in structured data** when sources are re-verified or replaced.\n\n## Self-published research outputs\n\n**Get a DOI** (free via Zenodo) for any Candid-authored research artifact (white papers, downloadable reports, methodology documents). The DOI persists even if the original URL changes.\n\n## Why verbatim quote is the highest-leverage step\n\nWhen a URL dies, a footnote like *\"Source: example.com/article-123\"* leaves no recovery path. A footnote like *\"Per BBC §3.2.2: 'All BBC output...must be well sourced, based on sound evidence, thoroughly tested.' (BBC Editorial Guidelines, 2019 ed.)\"* is **searchable in any archive** even if the URL is gone. The verbatim quote is the durability layer; the URL is the convenience layer.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"zittrain-reference-rot-supreme-court-2014","title":"Zittrain et al. (Harvard Law 2014): 50% of URLs in U.S. Supreme Court opinions suffer reference rot","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"nyt-link-half-life-15-years-13pct-content-drift","title":"Link rot: NYT external links 1996-2019 show ~15-year half-life; 13% of \"live\" links no longer point to original content","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"rule-capture-archive-snapshot-at-citation-time","title":"RULE: Capture an archive snapshot (Perma.cc / archive.org) at the moment of citing any web source. Quote verbatim.","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"research-brief-confidence-sources-dated-claims","title":"Research brief: Confidence Levels, Sources, and Dated Claims — why every statement on a credible site should be verifiable (piece 15 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T20:51:27.050Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T20:51:27.050Z"}