As stated in the note from the Sunlight Foundation′s Board Chair, as of September 2020 the Sunlight Foundation is no longer active. This site is maintained as a static archive only.

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Classification of Non-Maintenance Web Content Alterations and Access Reductions to Web Resources

See Gov404: Web Integrity Project’s Censorship Tracker for an implementation of the classification below applied to cases of Web censorship and information removal.

A PDF version of the classification is available here.

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	(1) Altering or removing text and non-text content a. Change or removal of text snippets (word(s), sentence(s), title(s), link text). b. Change or removal of image, graphic, video, or other visual element. c. Change or removal of interactive Web element.
	(2) Altering or removing links a. Not updating a link or links to a page that has been moved to a new URL. b. Improperly updating a link or links to a page that has been moved to a new URL. c. Removing a link or links to a page that has not been permanently removed or has not been removed at all. d. Removing a link or links to a page that has not been permanently removed so as to “orphan” that page, making it in inaccessible by navigating through the website within which the page is located.
	(3) Moving an entire webpage or collection of webpages or establishing redirects a. Moving a page or collection of pages to a new URL or URLs without a redirect from the previous URL or URLs: i. The previous URL or URLs lead to a “dead” page, a 404 error, or a 403 error. ii. The previous URL or URLs lead to a statement that the previous page(s) and its information has been removed. iii. The previous URL or URLs lead to a page or pages that are related yet substantively different. iv. The previous URL or URLs lead to a page or pages that are completely unrelated or may be an organization-wide homepage. b. Moving a collection of pages to new URLs without a redirect from the previous URLs and without updating links, leaving pages disconnected from the rest of their collection. c. Moving a page or collection of pages to a new URL or URLs with a redirect from the previous URL or URLs: i. The redirect is established from each individual previous URL to a separate page. ii. The redirect is established from each individual previous URL to just the new website’s homepage.
	(4) Altering or removing an entire pertinent section of a webpage or collection of webpages a. A section of a single webpage is altered or removed. b. The same section is removed across a collection of webpages.
	(5) Removing an entire webpage or document Pertains to removal of webpages or documents from a particular URL or domain. The resources may still be available on the Web but may be at another domain or stored in a Web archive. a. The previous URL leads to a “dead” page, a 404 error, or a 403 error. b. The previous URL redirects to a page that contains a statement that the previous page and its information has been removed. c. The previous URL redirects to an existing or new URL for another page: i. The page is related yet substantively different. ii. The page is completely unrelated or may be an organization-wide homepage. d.The previous URL leads to a page that requests authorization credentials to access the content or a 401 error.
	(6) Overhauling or removing an entire website Pertains to substantial rewriting and restructuring of text and non-text content. A “website” may be a collection of webpages hosted on one Web domain or may be collection of webpages, with related content, similar menus, or significant cross-linking, hosted on multiple subdomains. a. An entire website is removed or overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s previous URLs lead to “dead” pages, a 404 error, or a 403 error: i. A significant portion of the previous website is replaced with new content at different URLs. ii. The previous website is not replaced with new content. b. An entire website is removed or overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s previous URLs redirect to a page that contains a statement that the previous information has been removed: i. A significant portion of the previous website is replaced with new content at different URLs. ii. The previous website is not replaced with new content. c. An entire website is removed or overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s previous URLs redirect to existing URLs for another page or pages: i. The pages are related yet substantively different. ii. The pages are completely unrelated or may be an organization-wide homepage. d. An entire website is removed or overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s previous URLs redirect to a URL or URLs for a replacement website: i. The redirects are established from each individual previous URL to separate pages, which are related yet substantively different. ii. The redirects are established from each individual previous URL to separate pages, which are completely unrelated. iii. The redirects are established from each individual previous URL to the new website’s homepage. e. An entire website is overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s webpages are replaced with new content at the same URLs: i. The pages are related yet substantively different ii. The pages are completely unrelated. f. An entire website is overhauled, and a significant portion or all of the website’s URLs lead to a page that requests authorization credentials to access the content or a 401 error.
	(7) Altering or removing search engines and open data platforms Search engines and open data platforms allow for searching Web resources, often accessing a corresponding database of records. Records may still be available on the Web without the engine or platform, but access to them may be significantly reduced. a. Altering a search engine or open data platform that provides access to documents, datasets, or information that are accessible elsewhere on the website: i. Altering the search function and output such that the same search results are presented or prioritized differently. ii. Altering the search function and output such that fewer search results are available, though the content that the results linked to may not itself be altered in any way. b. Altering a search engine or open data platform that provides access to documents, datasets, or information that are only accessible through the search engine or open data platform: i. Altering the search function and output such that the same search results are presented or prioritized differently. ii. Altering the search function and output such that fewer search results are available, thereby rendering that content inaccessible. c. Removing a search engine or open data platform that provides access to documents, datasets, or information that are accessible elsewhere on the website. d. Removing a search engine or open data platform that provides access to documents, datasets, or information that are only accessible through the search engine or open data platform.
	(8) Altering, removing, or deleting datasets This includes the removal of the primary webpage that provides the URL for the server data request or the removal of the data from the server itself. a. Removing the primary webpage or website that hosts or contains links to a dataset, or contains a search engine or open data platform that provides sole access to a dataset (as in 7.d). The dataset is “islanded;” it is still available at some public address, but it is inaccessible from the website within which it is located. b. Removing or altering entries from a dataset. c. Removing or altering fields from a dataset. d. Adding a request for authorization credentials to access the dataset. e. Removing an entire dataset. f. Deleting a dataset from government servers.

Classification of Web Content Alterations Relating to Web Maintenance and Expansion of Access to Web Resources

1. Correcting typographic or grammatical errors

2. Adding new, pertinent text and non-text content

3. Updating or adding links:

a. Removing a link to a page that has been permanently removed

b. Updating a link to a page that has been moved

c. Adding new links to pages

4. Updating resources from classes 4-8 above

5. Adding pertinent information and resources from classes 4-8 above

Classifications of Approaches to Changes and Access Reductions

Note: This section will be substantially expanded in future versions of this document and examples for individual classes will be added.

Assessment of continued availability of affected agency Web resources

Classes of storage of affected Web resources in agency Web archives

Assessment of notice provided or explanation of change by agency

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