Lawyers' Delight: Old Web Material Doesn't Disappear

Wall Street Journal Online ^ | 7/27/2005 | David Kesmodel

[Mike Bates]

Earlier this year, executives at Dell Inc. tried to shut down DellComputersSuck.com, a Web site promoting an obscure brand of computers. Dell's lawyers dispatched a stern letter, and within a few days, the site's owner revamped it into an online discussion group about computers. The old version disappeared from view.

The PC giant still wanted to seize the address, a move permitted under rules governing the use of domain names. But Dell had to prove to an arbitration panel it had been used in "bad faith." So Dell's legal team turned to the Wayback Machine, a massive archive of Web pages dating back nine years. There, Dell found copies of the deleted site and was able to prove that its owner, Innervision Web Solutions, had used it to redirect consumers to another Web address selling PCs with names such as ZMachinez and Jetbook. In May, an arbitration panel ordered the domain name be transferred to Dell.

The Web, seemingly one of the most ephemeral of media, is instead starting to leave permanent records. Through the Wayback Machine, and similar services offered by companies such as Google Inc., it's now easy to retrieve all kinds of online material, from defunct Web pages to old versions of sites. While these databases have caught on among historians and scholars, they are proving particularly enticing for lawyers.

At some law firms, litigators now ask researchers, "can you do a Wayback on that?" The archives are most attractive to specialists in intellectual-property law -- in particular, areas such as domain-name battles -- and have been used by companies as diverse as EchoStar Communications Corp. and Playboy Enterprises Inc. In February, recovered pages prompted a mistrial in a prominent murder case in Canada.

[Mike Bates]

Yet another reason for prudence in cyberspace.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[Zacs Mom]

Unfortunately, many of the political and msm folks have realize how damaging it can be to have their own words from the past readily available to anyone who can log on and have taken the small step needed to disable The Way Machine's ability to archive current and future pages

[bikepacker67]

"Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink."

[Mike Bates]

"Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink."

I think it was Cal Coolidge who noted that rarely had he gotten in trouble for something he didn't say.

[Alouette]

Now you know the real reason so many MSM outlets refuse to allow entire articles to be posted on Free Republic.

[Paradox]

The internet is proving to be a double edged sword for some. Especially with Wayback abilities, and search engine like Zabasearch.com which can make it easy to look up information about a person.

[brownsfan]

"disable The Way Machine's ability to archive current and future pages"

About those future pages... I'd like access, today, to the page that has the MegaMillions numbers for next week.

[bwteim]

Last Updated December 15, 1996 "That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -- Abraham Lincoln -- Gettysburg, Nov. 19, 1863. Starr: "Foster Suicide" The Most Dangerous Man in Washington Behind the scenes with Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr -- the quiet but deeply ambitious lawyer who's on the trail of the 'Clinton scandals' Starr has resolved one matter: the Foster suicide. NEWSWEEK has learned that Starr has decided, after an exhaustive examination of the forensic evidence, that the White House lawyer in fact shot himself at Fort Marcy Park, Va. That is the same conclusion reached by the Park Police and by Robert B. Fiske Jr., Starr's predecessor as the Whitewater special prosecutor. full story Democracy in the Bible and History The Biblical Importance of Rule by Law By Kevin J. Price So, what form of government did the founding fathers intend for the United States? Well, recall the statement of Franklin, "a republic, if you can keep it." Recall, also, your pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands... "Republic" is virtually a lost term in the American lexicon, but it was an important idea throughout American history. It was the only term used by Presidents to describe our country until Woodrow Wilson used the term "democracy" in relation to the U.S. entrance into World War I, when he said in 1917 that we needed to "make the world safe for democracy." There is no public record of this term used by a President before this date. full story A Free Republic If you believe that our nation has been drifting away from Abraham Lincoln's "government of the people", or that our government has deserted our Founding Fathers' vision of a Free Republic as set forth in the Constitution, or that our government has mushroomed completely out of control, or that the so-called free press has been "protecting" us from the ugly truth -- read on. On these pages we hope to bring you news of the nation not only from the mainstream media, but also from lesser known sources - small papers, newsletters, talk shows, government publications, online websites, and gasp, even from conspiracy theorists (sometimes there really are fires beneath all that smoke). And most importantly, we hope to involve you in the process. If you believe that an informed public is the first step in returning to a Free Republic, and that this is the way to ensure that we remain free, then we hope you will help us make this a useful and active forum. Please join us in seeking out and disseminating the truth. Please join a discussion group in our Forum . Registration is quick, easy, immediate and free. Come tell the world what you think and/or link the world to your homepage or to a link of your choice.

E-mail your comments, suggestions, flames, etc to:

[Leatherneck_MT]

So how does one disable that ability?

[Mike Bates]

I think robots.txt.

[Mike Bates]

Zabasearch is a real eye opener for the uninitiated.

[The Red Zone]

Wayback doesn't always honor that, for whatever reason

[dirtboy]

I think it was Cal Coolidge who noted that rarely had he gotten in trouble for something he didn't say.

That no longer applies. Recall all the grief that the left gave Bush for claiming that the threat from Saddam was imminent - when Bush claimed something very different.

Or the more recent grief over Bush's backtracking from firing any leakers in the Plame matter - when Bush said they would have had to break the law.

That's the marvel of today's left - that they try and attack Bush for what he did not say, and, even more amazing, that they think they can still get away with it, no matter how many times we've caught them in their lies.

[Zacs Mom]

Through the use of a Robots.txt file.

(a click on the name above will take you to "Robots.txt" Tutorial)

[gnarledmaw]

That Zabasearch.com is interesting. I wonder where they get their info. I have good reason to believe that Im the only one in the country with my name yet Im listed as living multiple places. My electronic personality and credit arent worth stealing...

[timsbella]

You'd think people would have learned when google acquired usenet archives (and many people used their own names back then to discuss everything from their panic attacks, to their prostates, to their obsessions with food). The free services on knowx, intellius, and especially IAF (internet address finder) are baffling, but much of it was put out there by the posters themselves and the balance compiled through catalog purchases, magazine subscriptions and other open transactions.

Might be easier someday to remove a tattoo...

[Balding_Eagle]

I can read what I posted years ago, and realize what an ass I was.

LOL! Don't say that, make us figure it out for ourselves.

[Zacs Mom]

lol - I'm pretty sure that one was robots.txt disabled long ago.

[Publius6961]

I think it was Cal Coolidge who noted that rarely had he gotten in trouble for something he didn't say.

Ummmmm.

I think about 1.199999999 billion muslims are about to demonstrate that it is not always true.