Your Content, Their Server

I've been seeing mutterings around the Net for a while now about the perils of putting your content on other people's servers. Of course user generated content was one of the core concepts of the whole Web 2.0 thaang. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Here's an example. I was Googling about today for blogs talking about the waters I'm hoping to sail and I got a hit from Google thus:

Shotley Marina Harwich to Wells-Next-The-Sea
2 Jul 2008 by rayoliverhome
Liz and I set sail from Shotley Marina, Harwich, on Sunday 22 June with the forecast indicating strong F7 /gale F8 for the area. No, I was not mad and taking risks, we did not go to open sea, but we decided to explore the River Orwell ...

Sounded interesting, not least because Hugo and I had done something rather similar in a Force 6 the year before. So I clicked on the link and got this:

Aol.
Important information regarding the shutdown of AOL Hometown, Journals (blogs) and KW FTP.

We regret to inform you that AOL Hometown, AOL Journals (blogs) and KW FTP has been shut down.

Sincerely,
The AOL Team

So there we are, two and a half years after the post was made and AOL have taken down the blogging facility (AOL Journals) and hence destroyed the content.

Let's hope the poster kept a copy somewhere else.