The real issue is "Cool URIs don't change" vs "The BBC is hideously bloated". Keeping these sites online isn't so terribly expensive. Keeping a few hundred extr

The real issue is "Cool URIs don't change" vs "The BBC is hideously bloated". Keeping these sites online isn't so terribly expensive. Keeping a few hundred extra lines in your .htaccess isn't expensive. I've not seen a decent estimate of the cost savings, and as far as I know one doesn't exist. The material is being archived inside the BBC, as well as in torrents like this one. But the URLs are being broken, for no reason besides sending a message.