Introduction
Established in 2009, the Archive Team (distinct from the Archive-It Team at archive.org) is an independent collective of archivists committed to preserving copies of websites that are quickly vanishing or have been deleted, highlighting the importance of history and digital heritage. Comprised entirely of volunteers and enthusiasts, the team has diversified into numerous projects aimed at safeguarding online and digital history.
Mission and Philosophy
The past is filled with countless disputes regarding the future of communities, groups, places, or businesses, often resolved when one party obliterated the existing situation. With the original source of contention erased, discussions tended to fade away. The Archive Team believes that by replicating threatened data, ongoing conversations and debates can persist, along with the wealth of knowledge derived from retaining these materials. Our initiatives vary from individual volunteers downloading data from lesser-known sites to a collaborative effort of over 100 volunteers gathering terabytes of user-generated content for future generations.
Key Resources
The official website for the Archive Team can be found at archiveteam.org, where current information on various projects, manifestos, plans, and guides is regularly updated.
Our Collection
This repository showcases the outcomes of numerous Archive Team projects, both ongoing and completed. Thanks to the generous allocation of storage space by the Internet Archive, we can make multi-terabyte datasets available for use by the Wayback Machine, which acts as a gateway to rediscovered websites and works.
Exploring the Collections
Our collection has expanded to include sub-collections based on the types of data we gather. For those interested in browsing these archives, the Wayback Machine serves as the ideal starting point. Alternatively, you can sift through the stacks to uncover various treasures.
Panic Downloads
The Archive Team Panic Downloads refer to comprehensive collections of existing websites that serve as crucial emergency backups for sites at risk of being taken down or those that would be sorely missed if lost suddenly due to hardware failures or server crashes.