GE-97 TERMINAL

101 websites that existed in 1996 and left no trace in the archive

In 1996 Microsoft published the Bookshelf Internet Directory on CD-ROM: an edited, categorised guide to 3,934 addresses across 2,657 hosts, with a staff of editors filing each site under headings like Oceanography, Fax Services and Off the Wall › UFOs. It was a snapshot of what a large publisher thought the web was, printed and pressed.

Every host on that disc has now been checked against the Internet Archive's CDX index. The 101 below returned no capture at all — not a partial crawl, not a redirect, nothing. They were documented by a professional editorial team, pressed onto plastic, and then missed entirely by the archive that is supposed to hold the web's memory.

Hosts catalogued on the 1996 disc	2,657
Already held in the GE-97 directories	1,567
Archived, newly catalogued here	960
Documented in 1996, absent from the archive	101

76 of the 101 still carry the title the 1996 editors gave them, and 75 carry the category they were filed under — both recovered from the disc's own record structure. The rest are addresses without a surviving name.

Name recorded in 1996	Filed under	Host	Address on file
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	129.82.102.175	http://129.82.102.175
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	192.217.111.2	http://192.217.111.2
A 60s Trading Post for the 90s	Shopping	artitude.wwa.com	http://artitude.wwa.com
Academic Physician and Scientist Jobs	Health and Medicine	aps.acad-phy-sci.com	gopher://aps.acad-phy-sci.com/11%2F
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	accgopher.georgetown.edu	gopher://ACCGopher.Georgetown.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	agent2.lycos.cs.cmu.edu	http://agent2.lycos.cs.cmu.edu
Agricultural Weather Information Service	Weather and Meteorology	www.awis.auburn.edu	http://www.awis.auburn.edu/
Air Force Maui Optical Station	Astronomy and Space	ulua.mhpcc.edu	http://ulua.mhpcc.edu/amos.html
American Tour de Sol	Engineering	nesea.nrel.gov	http://nesea.nrel.gov/nesea_index.html
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	artaids.dcs.qmw.ac.uk	http://artaids.dcs.qmw.ac.uk
ASCII Art: Science Fiction/Fantasy Images	Science Fiction and Fantasy	ftp.cs.ttu.edu	ftp://ftp.cs.ttu.edu/pub/asciiart/
Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory	Oceanography	bigmac.aoml.erl.gov	http://bigmac.aoml.erl.gov/aoml.html
Bank of America - Personal Finance	Personal Finance	165.32.204.6	http://165.32.204.6/
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	bantha.pc.cc.cmu.edu	http://bantha.pc.cc.cmu.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	bat.cs.hut.fi	telnet://bat.cs.hut.fi
Bay Area Multimedia Technology Alliance Job Bank Directory	Employment Opportunities and Resources	mlds-www.arc.nasa.gov	http://mlds-www.arc.nasa.gov/form/BAMTA/
BIOSYM Technologies	Biology	www.biosym.com	http://www.biosym.com/index.html
Bipartite Nuclear Localization Sequence Locator	Chemistry	cy-mac.welc.cam.ac.uk	http://cy-mac.welc.cam.ac.uk/biploc_form.html
Bulgarian Poetry Page	Language and Linguistics	shiva.cs.columbia.edu	ftp://shiva.cs.columbia.edu/BULGARIA/POETRY
Centers For Independent Living	Resources for Disabled People	val-dor.cc.buffalo.edu	gopher://val-dor.cc.buffalo.edu/00/.ilc.directory/.cils
Cereal Fashion	Off the Wall › Useless Sites	198.3.117.222	http://198.3.117.222/fashion.html
Commerce Business Daily (CBD)	Economics and Business	usic.savvy.com	gopher://usic.savvy.com/
Congressional Quarterly	Politics and Political Science	gopher.cqalert.com	gopher://gopher.cqalert.com/
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	coolidge.harvard.edu	telnet://coolidge.harvard.edu
Cryptography Export Control Archives	Security and Cryptography	ftp.cygnus.com	ftp://ftp.cygnus.com/pub/export/export.html
De Web Mysteriis	Off the Wall › Mysticism	eerie.eerie.fr	http://eerie.eerie.fr/~alquier/cthulhu_ntsc.html
Defense Information Systems Agency	Government and Military	ssed1.ims.disa.mil	http://ssed1.ims.disa.mil/Welcome.html
EF Journal	Environment	gopher.igc.apc.org	gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org
English-German and German-English Dictionary	Language and Linguistics	calamity.rz-berlin.mpg.de	http://calamity.rz-berlin.mpg.de/eg.html
Fathers’ Rights & Equality Exchange	Support Resources	gopher.vix.com	gopher://gopher.vix.com/11/free
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	flint.mines.colorado.edu	gopher://flint.mines.colorado.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	floeberg.colorado.edu	http://floeberg.colorado.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se	telnet://fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se
Global Change Data Center	Weather and Meteorology	ame.gsfc.nasa.gov	http://ame.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcdc/gcdc.html
Global Chat Services	Chat Services	chat.service.digital.com	http://chat.service.digital.com/
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	gopher.aclu.org	gopher://gopher.aclu.org
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	gopher.afb.org	gopher://gopher.afb.org
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	gopher.cc.columbia.edu	gopher://gopher.cc.columbia.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	gopher.vifp.monash.edu.au	gopher://gopher.vifp.monash.edu.au
Handicap	Resources for Disabled People	handicap.shel.isc-br.com	ftp://handicap.shel.isc-br.com
Head Space: the Science (and) Fiction Page	Science Fiction and Fantasy	cactus.cedarville.edu	http://cactus.cedarville.edu/~jonathan/space.html
Hubble Space Telescope	Astronomy and Space	stinfo.hq.eso.org	telnet://stinfo.hq.eso.org
Humor Web	Humor	www.usmcs.maine.edu	http://www.usmcs.maine.edu/~laferrie/humor/humor.html
IBM FTP server, OS/2 folder	Computers and Software › OS/2 Resources	software.watson.ibm.com	ftp://software.watson.ibm.com/pub/os2
Images of the Southwest	Photography	matahari.tamu.edu	http://matahari.tamu.edu/People/Ewen/SouthWest.html
Index of Citations in Biomedicine: The New York Times	Index Services	gopher.uchc.edu	gopher://gopher.uchc.edu/11gopher_root%3a%5b_data04._data0401%5d
Inktomi	Index Services	inktomi.berkeley.edu	http://inktomi.berkeley.edu/
Investor's Business Daily	News	ibd.ensemble.com	http://ibd.ensemble.com/
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	kilp.media.mit.edu	http://kilp.media.mit.edu
LAWNET	Law	melbourne.lawnet.com.au	http://melbourne.lawnet.com.au/home.html
Louisiana Tech Journalism Server	Journalism	blick.journ.latech.edu	gopher://blick.journ.latech.edu/
Lunar and Planetary Institute	Astronomy and Space	1pi.jsc.nasa.gov	telnet://1pi.jsc.nasa.gov
Macintosh Ham Stacks	Radio	vixen.cso.uiuc.edu	ftp://vixen.cso.uiuc.edu/pub/ham-radio/
MacLinQ	Computers and Software › Macintosh Resources	www.maclinq.com	http://www.maclinq.com/
Math Lectures & Discussions Broadcast on the MBONE	Mathematics	wizkids.matematik.su.se	http://wizkids.matematik.su.se/users/leifj/workshop.html
Mother Jones	Electronic Books and Texts	mojones.mojones.com	gopher://mojones.mojones.com/
Mountain Flying	Aviation	www.duvel.itmi.cgs.fr	http://www.duvel.itmi.cgs.fr/users/Etienne_Roger/aviation/english/
Nanotechnology and Medicine	Biology	ftp.parc.xerox.com	ftp://ftp.parc.xerox.com/pub/nano/nanotechAndMedicine.html
NETLiNkS! Hot Spots on the Web	Index Services	198.53.145.2	http://198.53.145.2/~csteele/whathot.html
NOAA Coastal & Estuarine Oceanography Branch	Oceanography	www-ceob.nos.noaa.gov	http://www-ceob.nos.noaa.gov/
Notable Women	Women's Resources	gopher.emc.maricopa.edu	gopher://gopher.emc.maricopa.edu/11/library/notablewomen
Occupational Outlook Handbook 1994-1995	Employment Opportunities and Resources	umslvma.umsl.edu	gopher://umslvma.umsl.edu/11/LIBRARY/GOVDOCS/OOH/OOHB
Oregon State University Geophysics Homepage	Geology and Geophysics	quakes.oce.orst.edu	http://quakes.oce.orst.edu/Geophysics.html
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	os2info.austin.ibm.com	gopher://os2info.austin.ibm.com
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	phobos.cs.ucdavis.edu	http://phobos.cs.ucdavis.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	press-gopher.uchicago.edu	http://press-gopher.uchicago.edu
Project Dante	Electronic Books and Texts	library.dartmouth.edu	telnet://library.dartmouth.edu
Project Gutenberg	Literature › General	jg.cso.uiuc.edu	http://jg.cso.uiuc.edu/PG/welcome.html
Protect Inc.	Shopping	www.mcrlabs.com	http://www.mcrlabs.com/netpro/protect/protect.html
Raptus Gallery of Modern Art	Photography	194.143.8.27	http://194.143.8.27/home/raptus/gallery.html
Revenue Canada Gopher	Government and Military	gopher.revcan.ca	gopher://gopher.revcan.ca/
RiskyBusiness	Trivia	calypso.cs.uregina.ca	http://calypso.cs.uregina.ca/Games/riskybus.html
Russian Legislation	Law	garant.msu.ru	http://garant.msu.ru/
Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau	Travel	www.saltlakecvb.com	http://www.saltlakecvb.com
Speakers Online	Shopping	speakers.starbolt.com	http://speakers.starbolt.com/pub/speakers/web/speakers.html
Star Trek: The Next Generation	Television	cruciform.cid.com	http://cruciform.cid.com/~werdna/sttng/
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	sulaco.oes.orst.edu	http://sulaco.oes.orst.edu
Systems Integration Laboratory at University of California Berkeley	Engineering	maastricht.berkeley.edu	http://maastricht.berkeley.edu/
Tax World Homepage	Economics and Business	omer.cba.neu.edu	http://omer.cba.neu.edu/home
The Aviation Home Page	Aviation	164.116.96.230	http://164.116.96.230/pfolders/gwilkerson/aviation.html
The First General Aviation	—	www.aviation.jsc.nasa.gov	http://www.aviation.jsc.nasa.gov/
The Holy Quran	Religion	chestnut.enmu.edu	http://chestnut.enmu.edu/~stjeanp/quran.index.html
The Investment Exchange	Economics and Business	www.icis.on.ca	http://www.icis.on.ca/homepages/tiexchange
The Irish Jobs Vacancies Page	Employment Opportunities and Resources	www.internet-eireann.ie	http://www.internet-eireann.ie/Ireland/irishjobs.html
The Melissa Etheridge FAQ	Music and Audio	132.206.204.12	http://132.206.204.12/mle/mle_faq.html
The Neurosurgery Institute--Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery Program	Health and Medicine	147.140.40.77	http://147.140.40.77/MIBS/mibs.html
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	tikal.dev.oclc.org	http://tikal.dev.oclc.org
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	troika.dorm.duke.edu	http://troika.dorm.duke.edu/
U.S. Bureau of Mines Gopher Site	Geology and Geophysics	gopher.usbm.gov	gopher://gopher.usbm.gov/
Umich Macintosh Archives	Computers and Software › Macintosh Resources	mac.archive.umich.edu	ftp://mac.archive.umich.edu/mac/
United Bus Owners of America: Touring by Motorcoach	Travel	www.uboa.org	http://www.uboa.org/pub/sgs/uboahome.htm
University of Minnesota’s On-line Dissertations	Reference Books	gopher.umi.com	gopher://gopher.umi.com/1
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	unlvm.unl.edu	gopher://unlvm.unl.edu
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	wcni.cis.umn.edu	gopher://wcni.cis.umn.edu
Weights and Measures Translation Tables	Reference Books	sap.uoregon.edu	gopher://sap.uoregon.edu/00/Reference/Weights%20%26%20Measures
Western Regional Climate Center	Weather and Meteorology	wrcc.sage.unr.edu	http://wrcc.sage.unr.edu/
What’s in my Desk Drawer	Off the Wall › Useless Sites	www.crayola.cse.psu.edu	http://www.crayola.cse.psu.edu/~goodman/desk.html
Whole Internet Catalog Select	Index Services	gnn-e2a.gnn.com	http://gnn-e2a.gnn.com/gnn/wic/wics/index.html
Woll2Woll Software	Shopping	www.wol2wol.com	http://www.wol2wol.com
World Wide Server Indexes	Index Services	204.191.126.2	http://204.191.126.2/istar/webs.html
(untitled in the 1996 record)	—	wwwnncc.scs.unr.edu	http://wwwnncc.scs.unr.edu

How this list was made, and what is deliberately not on it

Addresses were extracted from MSPID.MDB on the disc — a proprietary Microsoft container rather than a standard database, read by direct byte inspection. Each host was then queried against web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx with matchType=domain, restricted to HTTP 200 responses between 1994 and 2001. A host with zero rows in that response is what appears above.

Three kinds of entry were excluded rather than listed:

• 22 truncated fragments. The disc's records occasionally cut a address short, producing things like bmi.c6 or www.zdnet.i. These are not addresses and cannot be looked up.
• 7 hosts whose lookup failed. A failed request is not evidence of absence, so these are recorded as unknown rather than counted as gone.
• Corrupted twins. www.gactr.uga.ee was dropped because the .edu form of the same address appears on the same disc and is archived; ww.west.net and neuromancer.hacks.arizoa.edu were dropped as typos. Whether the error is ours or the 1996 editors', the address as written never resolved to a site.

This is a census against one archive at one moment, not a claim that no copy of these pages exists anywhere. It can only shrink: if the Internet Archive later surfaces a capture, the entry comes off.

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