Web Science and Digital Libraries Research Group

Redirects are often seen as the invisible roads of the web, silently sending users from one URL to another. While they typically serve the practical purpose of keeping web traffic flowing smoothly—replacing outdated links and guiding users to relevant resources — sometimes they lead to unexpected destinations. We have been researching the lifespan of web pages as part of our "Not Your Parents' Web" project in collaboration with the Internet Archive and Filecoin Foundation . As part of this work, we focused on redirecting URLs. During our analysis of the primary destinations that URLs lead to (referred to as sinks), one particularly notable pattern emerged, revealing how meme culture and internet pranks influence the web. As I examined a dataset of redirecting URLs, I uncovered a notable pattern involving one of the internet’s most famous pranks: Rickrolling . Rickrolling on web Rickrolling, a cultural internet phenomenon, involves sharing misleading links that direct...

Web archives are essential for researchers studying Twitter, offering a historical perspective on evolving conversations and trends. Archives ensure data integrity and preservation, which is crucial in a platform where content can be deleted or even, in some cases, modified. Additionally, web archives allow technical analysis of social media changes, enable comparative studies across time and platforms, and provide cultural insights, making them an essential resource for researchers in various fields. However, archiving Twitter has always been a challenge. Archiving Twitter is challenging not only due to the massive volume and dynamic nature of tweets but also because of Twitter's continually evolving user interface (UI). Studying the history of Twitter through web archives can lead to confusion, especially when encountering mementos that display different Twitter UIs from the same period.  This blog delves into the nuances of two types of Twitter UIs, client-side and server-side, ...