Dear Ed and Jeremy, The sometimes ephemeral nature of Web sites is indicated by the fact that all known citation systems require a statement of accessed date. To my way of thinking, that fact is clear. As I see it, the facts of Web citation are plain on their face. They do not require a preamble. In a sense, a Web site is much like the transcript of an interview or a journal of field notes. One must trust to the scholarly and scientific probity of the researcher. If he or she fails to develop the evidence properly, the fault lies with the scholar. The Web site itself is as relevant or irrelevant as a series of notes taken at a New England town meeting, a transcript of overheard street corner conversations, or a diary of research notes taken in an archive that vanishes when the building holding it burns. The real question is the form in which a researcher ought properly to document a Web site used in research. I assume that some sites will vanish. If I use a citation that is of merely passing interest to a larger topic, I don't do more than cite. When the Web site itself is the object of inquiry, I print out images of the relevant pages. If there is some reason to question the credibility, care or veracity of a scholar, then I'd question the entire submission. If all else seems in order, I'd accept the missing Web material in the same way that I'd allow a reference to a public ex tempore speech unrecorded except in the notes of the scholar. Best regards, Ken -- Ken Friedman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design Department of Leadership and Organization Norwegian School of Management Visiting Professor Advanced Research Institute School of Art and Design Staffordshire University