Editing Help:Finding research sources (section)

== Using the Wayback Machine ==

The '''[https://web.archive.org/ Wayback Machine]''' is operated by the Internet Archive and allows researchers to view preserved versions of websites from earlier dates.[4]

It is particularly useful for paintball research because many older team websites, tournament pages, manufacturer websites and discussion forums are no longer available.

=== How to find an old website ===

# Visit [https://web.archive.org/ web.archive.org].
# Enter the website address you want to investigate.
# Select ''Browse History''.
# If archived copies exist, select a year from the timeline.
# Choose an available date on the calendar.
# Open the archived version of the page.
# Explore its historical navigation menus and links.
# Copy the exact archived URL if you find useful information.

For example, you could enter an old paintball team's website address to investigate its historical roster, sponsors or tournament announcements.

You can repeat the process using different years to see how the website changed.

=== Finding pages within an old website ===

Do not limit your research to the homepage.

Look for historical sections such as:

* News
* Teams
* Results
* Events
* About us
* History
* Galleries
* Sponsors
* Archives

If an archived page contains a broken link, try entering that link's original address directly into the Wayback Machine.

You can also use its archived URL listing to investigate pages captured from an old domain.

Where possible, experiment with older domain names, alternative addresses and different years.

=== When an archived page does not work ===

Archived websites are not always complete.

Some images, downloads, links and interactive features may be missing. Pages that relied heavily on JavaScript can be particularly difficult to recover.[4]

If a page fails to load:

# Try another archived date.
# Search for the exact page URL rather than the homepage.
# Check whether the website previously used a different domain.
# Search for old links to that page on other websites.
# Look for the same information in magazine coverage or tournament reports.

An unavailable archive does not mean that a website or historical event never existed.

=== Saving current websites for future research ===

The Wayback Machine also offers a ''Save Page Now'' feature.

This allows users to submit an accessible public webpage for archiving, although not every website can be captured successfully.[5]

When you discover a useful historical record that is still available online, consider saving it so that a preserved version may remain accessible if the original changes or disappears.

This feature normally saves individual pages rather than an entire website.

=== Citing archived websites ===

When using the Wayback Machine as a source:

* Link to the specific archived page containing the information.
* Record the original website name.
* Identify the original publication date if available.
* Distinguish the archive capture date from the publication date.
* Confirm that the archived content actually supports your claim.

An archived page proves that the captured version contained particular information. It does not automatically prove that every statement on the website was accurate.