Editing Eurovision Wiki:Help desk (section)

== Arhciving Problem ==

I have been archiving my supporting URLs in my online citations. I have been using the WayBack Machine primarily, and if that does not work, the Archive.md archiving system. Recently, each of the Archive URLs using the Archive.md archiving system has produced a hidden error editor message. 

Considering that the Wayback Machine only works 1 in 5 times, this means I have now used Archive.md archiving URLs a lot in my edits. The error messages produced in the old Wikipedia articles have started to prevent those articles from displaying their reference lists, especially in the Wikipedia list articles, where this problem affects thousands of entries. Can you assist me? What could I do to resolve this issue?[[User:SMargan|SMargan]] ([[User talk:SMargan|talk]]) 03:34, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

:@[[User:SMargan|SMargan]] Archive.today and its related websites (which includes archive.md) are deprecated on English Wikipedia following [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Archive.is RFC 5|this RFC]]. Per [[WP:ATODAY]], {{tq|As of February 28, 2026, the citation templates in popular use on Wikipedia ([[WP:CS1]] and [[WP:CS2]]) will not render Archive.today and affiliated archive URLs.}} You should replace these links with other archive services (see [[Wikipedia:List of web archives on Wikipedia]]). [[User:Jolly1253|Jolly1253]] ([[User talk:Jolly1253|talk]]) 09:59, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

::@[[User:Jolly1253|Jolly1253]] ([[User talk:Jolly1253|talk]]) - I am shocked by this ruling. I have never had a problem with Archive.md's performance or accuracy. Indeed, 1 in 5 of my archies have been through Archie.md, involving sites that do not seem to be Archivable through the Wayback Machine, so this makes it a real problem for me. Is there any way of getting this ruling reviewed? Or, alternatively, will it be reviewed in the future if Archie.md resolves some of the problems raised by Wikipedia? The Wayback Machine is not always able to archive website pages.[[User:SMargan|SMargan]] ([[User talk:SMargan|talk]]) 10:41, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

:::@[[User:Jolly1253|Jolly1253]] ([[User talk:Jolly1253|talk]]) - I am making many changes as we speak, converting Archie.md URLs to Ghost Archie URLs. This will take me most of this year, for all of the articles I have edited. But, how will I know that this replacement archive system will not also suffer the same fate, and be deprecated as well?[[User:SMargan|SMargan]] ([[User talk:SMargan|talk]]) 11:27, 15 March 2026 (UTC)
::::{{tq|how will I know that this replacement archive system will not also suffer the same fate}} As long as Ghost Archive does not use malicious JavaScript to DDoS a website, tamper with archives or [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/wikipedia-bans-archive-today-after-site-executed-ddos-and-altered-web-captures/ other shenanigans] (all of those are obviously highly unlikely), you should be good. Remember that this decision (which was made by the community) was NOT made lightly, and people did consider the utility of archive.today w/r/t archiving webpages. [[User:OutsideNormality|OutsideNormality]] ([[User talk:OutsideNormality|talk]]) 18:02, 15 March 2026 (UTC)
:::@[[User:SMargan|SMargan]], you should read the [[Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Archive.is RFC 5|request for comments]] (which Jolly helpfully linked for you) to understand the extraordinary circumstances that led to this decision. It was even covered in mainstream technology news, for example [https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/02/wikipedia-bans-archive-today-after-site-executed-ddos-and-altered-web-captures/ this Ars Technica article]. We know that the Wayback Machine isn't perfect, but the community decided that archive.md posed a credible that outweighed its usefulness. There's an ongoing community effort to replace the links, so nobody has to do this alone. '''[[User:ClaudineChionh|ClaudineChionh]]''' <small>([[Wikipedia:Editors' pronouns|''she/her'']] · [[User talk:ClaudineChionh|talk]] · [[Special:EmailUser/ClaudineChionh|email]] · [[m:User:ClaudineChionh|global]])</small> 13:31, 15 March 2026 (UTC)