Editing Link rot (section)

{{Short description|URLs ceasing to function}}
{{redirect|Broken Link|the ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode|Broken Link (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)}}
{{for|link rot on Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Link rot|selfref=y}}
[[Image:404 not found.png|alt=Page Not Found|thumb|upright=1.3|A broken link usually leads to an error message.]]
'''Link rot''' (also called '''link death''', '''link breaking''', or '''reference rot''') is the phenomenon of [[hyperlink]]s tending over time to cease to point to their originally targeted [[computer file|file]], [[web page]], or [[Server (computing)|server]] due to that resource being relocated to a new address or becoming permanently unavailable. A link that no longer points to its target may be called ''broken'', ''dead'', or ''orphaned''.

The rate of link rot is a subject of study and research due to its significance to the [[internet]]'s ability to preserve information. Estimates of that rate vary dramatically between studies. Information professionals have warned that link rot could make important archival data disappear, potentially impacting the legal system and scholarship.