Can someone please help with a computer link problem?

Question

Here is a question for our computer savvy members.

I have been having difficulties trying to link articles in this thread. I have been trying to link news articles from the online version of Diario Libre. Sometimes the link works and brings me directly to the article. Other times, when clicking on the direct link I am brought back to the front page of the present day's edition.

If you click on the first story I linked about "Dominicans in Madrid", I come to today's headlines although I posted this several days ago. Other links are still working several days later.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Your links (http://www.diariolibre.com/) and (http://www.diariolibre.com/index.php) are to site pages (homepage) that are continuously updated. They are not links to specific components of that web page.

Php is a computer language that is often used on websites employing databases. The specific articles on the newpaper homepage are items in a database of articles. If you click on the link to one you will get a URL like this one: (http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=281827). That is the URL of a specific article in the newspaper. That is the URL of the link that you needed to post in your question rather than one that just links to the homepage (Front page of the newspaper with an index of article links).

BTW: one reason for storing items in a database (beyond searchability) is that is easy to control access to a database. You may find that in order to access archived articles that you must subscribe to the paper.

I have noticed that several newspapers will offer you "teasers". They will let you read a condensed or partial views of an article, but to see the entire article or related links you must be a subscriber to the newspaper.

Thanks Quentin. I knew you would come through for me! :) - Nicole-B, Mar 4, 2011

Answer 2

Is the story on Diario Libre still current when the link does not work? I mean, can you get to the story a different way, or is it archived and unavailable on their site?

Actually, I have difficulties occasionally at the time I am posting a new article. For example, a little while ago, I was trying to post the story about the young high school boy who died after making the winning shot last night. After adding some new vocab words, I decided to see if the link was still working before posting it. Several times it returned to the front page. I finally have it working (I think), so that can't be a situation where the story has been archived yet.

Problems seem to happen after I add something new to the post (i.e. photos or vocabulary words). However, as in my first example, the story about Dominicans in Madrid was fine for awhile and then changed.

I'm not sure if there is one or two problems going on...perhaps being archived and something in addition.

Answer 3

Is the story on Diario Libre still current when the link does not work? I mean, can you get to the story a different way, or is it archived and unavailable on their site?

Good question. I will try to see if I can figure that out. - Nicole-B, Mar 4, 2011