link to John Shipman's Tkinter 8.5 documentation fails: website no longer available

[xameridu]

BPO	37149
Nosy	@terryjreedy, @larryhastings, @benjaminp, @ned-deily, @roseman, @ambv, @serhiy-storchaka, @csabella, @miss-islington, @tirkarthi, @E-Paine
PRs	bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference  #14616 [3.8] bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616) #14617 [3.7] bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616) #14618 [2.7] bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616) #14619 [2.7] bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616) #14620 bpo-37149: Change Shipman tkinter link from archive.org to TkDocs #22188 [3.9] bpo-37149: Change Shipman tkinter link from archive.org to TkDocs (GH-22188) #22192 [3.8] bpo-37149: Change Shipman tkinter link from archive.org to TkDocs (GH-22188) #22193

^{Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.}

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GitHub fields:

assignee = None
closed_at = <Date 2020-09-14.04:33:48.982>
created_at = <Date 2019-06-04.11:59:26.751>
labels = ['3.8', 'expert-tkinter', '3.9', '3.10', 'docs']
title = "link to John Shipman's Tkinter 8.5 documentation fails: website no longer available"
updated_at = <Date 2020-09-14.04:33:48.980>
user = 'https://bugs.python.org/xameridu'

bugs.python.org fields:

activity = <Date 2020-09-14.04:33:48.980>
actor = 'ned.deily'
assignee = 'docs@python'
closed = True
closed_date = <Date 2020-09-14.04:33:48.982>
closer = 'ned.deily'
components = ['Documentation', 'Tkinter']
creation = <Date 2019-06-04.11:59:26.751>
creator = 'xameridu'
dependencies = []
files = []
hgrepos = []
issue_num = 37149
keywords = ['patch']
message_count = 25.0
messages = ['344549', '344551', '344553', '344719', '344725', '344727', '347422', '347423', '347424', '347425', '347426', '347427', '347501', '347503', '347512', '347514', '371636', '375966', '375981', '376013', '376691', '376692', '376693', '376694', '376863']
nosy_count = 13.0
nosy_names = ['terry.reedy', 'larry', 'benjamin.peterson', 'ned.deily', 'markroseman', 'docs@python', 'lukasz.langa', 'serhiy.storchaka', 'cheryl.sabella', 'miss-islington', 'xtreak', 'xameridu', 'epaine']
pr_nums = ['14616', '14617', '14618', '14619', '14620', '22188', '22192', '22193']
priority = None
resolution = 'fixed'
stage = 'resolved'
status = 'closed'
superseder = None
type = None
url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue37149'
versions = ['Python 3.8', 'Python 3.9', 'Python 3.10']

[xameridu]

On the page https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html
there is a link to "Tkinter reference: a GUI for Python" which is "https://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/index.html".

BIG PROBLEM : Since several days this link doesn't work any more !!!

It's really important to fix it because most of official online documentation about tkinter was provided by this way !!!

Fortunately i have a copy of the documentation (cf pdf file). I have downloaded this file thanks to the website above just before the link was failed ! (Yes, i know, i'm lucky...)

Unfortunately I can't send you this pdf because I have a message "request entity too large" :-(

[tirkarthi]

A copy of the URL is present in archive.org [0] . Perhaps the docs could be updated with it.

[0] https://web.archive.org/web/20190524140835/https://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/index.html

[xameridu]

The comment of Karthikeyan Singaravelan seems to be a good idea.

Question : is it possible to send a pdf (2.08 MB) to the python tracker ?

[csabella]

This reference was hosted at a university called New Mexico Tech. I've been trying to determine if this server is just offline or if it's being sunsetted. Many google search results still point to infohost.mnt.edu or redirect to that page (not just the tkinter link). Also, their main webpage (www.nmt.edu) also has a search that redirects results to infohost, so those links are all broken as well.

It seems to me that they just haven't stood up the new site yet or else they haven't changed their redirect, so I would assume that once they find they have broken links, they will fix this. However, I also found an article that the creator of the tkinter docs has passed away [1]. If the infohost subdomain was his, then they might be moving all of it.

Anyway, I think we should leave the docs as they are for now with the hope they the university will fix the redirect. If it doesn't get resolved, then we probably need to reach out to them. Since the author is deceased, I'm not sure how it would work to try to host it somewhere else. It would be a shame to lose this valuable reference and work.

[1] https://www.nmt.edu/news/2019/nmt_dedicates_shipman_plaque.php

[xameridu]

I have read Cheryl Sabella's comment. So I have sent this e-mail :

Objet: Request about a broken link on your website.
Date: 2019-06-05 16:20
De: xavier@guilloux-fr.net
À: thomas.guengerich@nmt.edu, webmaster@nmt.edu, help@nmt.edu

Hello,

For several days the link "https://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/index.html" has stopped working. But this link provided access to a prodigious technical documentation related to a Python language module (tkinter).

Can you put this link back in working order (or place a redirect to the new link)?

I draw your attention to the fact that this documentation contributes significantly to the international recognition of your university.

Thanks a lot for the continuation that you will give to this request.

Regards.

Xavier Guilloux.

(following is the same message but in my natural language - French -)

Bonjour,

Depuis plusieurs jours le lien "https://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/web/index.html" ne fonctionne plus. Or ce lien permettait d'accéder à une prodigieuse documentation technique en rapport avec un module du langage Python (tkinter).

Pouvez-vous remettre ce lien en état de fonctionnement (ou placer une redirection vers le nouveau lien) ?

J'attire votre attention sur le fait que cette documentation contribue de manière importante à la reconnaissance internationale de votre université.

Merci par avance pour la suite que vous donnerez à cette requête.

Cordialement.

Xavier Guilloux.

[xameridu]

I have received the answer :

Objet: Re: Request about a broken link on your website.
Date: 2019-06-05 16:39
De: New Mexico Tech <help@nmt.edu>
À: xavier@guilloux-fr.net
Cc: thomas.guengerich@nmt.edu, webmaster@nmt.edu

Hello,
Unfortunately infohost.nmt.edu has been shut down and we will no longer be supporting that website. The website will not be coming back up. Sorry for the inconvenience.

-Dorothy

ITC-UC
NMIMT
Socorro, NM 87801
575-835-5700

[terryjreedy]

New changeset 45bc61b by Terry Jan Reedy in branch 'master':
bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616)
45bc61b

[miss-islington]

New changeset d2c5677 by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.7':
bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616)
d2c5677

[miss-islington]

New changeset ea9c8ca by Miss Islington (bot) in branch '3.8':
bpo-37149: Replace dead link for online Tkinter reference (GH-14616)
ea9c8ca