Public Digital Object Record
FWX-000006
Yahoo! Directory
Yahoo! Directory was a hierarchical web-directory service originating in 1994 as Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web. Developed by Jerry Yang and David Filo, the service organized websites into browsable categories and became one of the principal mechanisms through which users discovered information on the expanding early World Wide Web.
- Record Number
- FWX-000006
- Release
- Public
- Preservation Status
- Archival Record
- Authority
- Forgotten Web Exchange
Administrative Record
Object Registration
- Digital Object ID
- FWX-000006
- Object Type
- Web Directory Service
- Classification
- Public
- Operational Status
- Defunct
- Preservation Status
- Archival Record
- Creator
- Jerry Yang and David Filo
- First Published
- 1994
- Last Verified
- 2026-09-07
- Historical Address
- http://dir.yahoo.com/
- Current Address
- Not available — original service discontinued.
Historical Record
Historical Overview
Yahoo! Directory was a hierarchical web-directory service originating in 1994 as Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web. Developed by Jerry Yang and David Filo, the service organized websites into browsable categories and became one of the principal mechanisms through which users discovered information on the expanding early World Wide Web.
Preservation Assessment
Current Preservation Status
The original Digital Object is no longer operational. Its historical record remains Accessible Through Historical Documentation and Web Archives.
Periodic Archival Review conducted by the Records & Provenance Division has identified the current integrity status as Original Service No Longer Operational.
Preservation status remains Archival Record.
- Observing Office
- Records & Provenance Division
- Monitoring Programme
- Periodic Archival Review
- Integrity Status
- Original Service No Longer Operational
- Accessibility
- Accessible Through Historical Documentation and Web Archives
Related Records
Related Digital Objects
Collections
Appears in Collections
Documentation
Narrative Record
Overview
Yahoo! Directory originated in 1994 as Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web, a project created by Stanford University graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo.
Rather than maintaining a machine-generated index of webpages, the service organized web resources within a browsable hierarchy of subjects and subcategories. This structure provided users with a means of navigating the rapidly expanding World Wide Web through human-organized classification.
The project developed into Yahoo!, and the directory remained a distinct component of the wider Yahoo service as the company expanded into search, communications, news, media, and other Internet services.
Yahoo! Directory remained operational for approximately two decades. Yahoo announced its discontinuation in 2014, and the service closed on 31 December 2014.
For catalogue purposes, the Bureau treats Yahoo! Directory as a distinct Digital Object separate from the wider Yahoo web portal, Yahoo Search, and the corporate entities that have operated under the Yahoo name.
Preservation Note
The original directory service is no longer operational. Its historical structure and contents survive through archived webpages, contemporary documentation, and other historical records.
The Bureau records the object as an archival preservation case. Particular historical states of the directory may differ between surviving captures, and no currently operating Yahoo service is considered a continuation of the Digital Object represented by this record.
Document Control
Publication Details
- Prepared by
- Office of Digital Preservation
- Published through
- Forgotten Web Exchange
- Issuing Authority
- Bureau of Digital Antiquities
- Document Revision
- 1.0
- Record Identifier
- FWX-000006
- Last Verification
- 2026-09-07