George Porter of Caltech writes an extensive commentary on the fleating
nature of online journals, citing several horrific examples of when a
journal ceases publication and the publisher does not deign to maintain
the electronic archive (he also mentions a few instances of publishers
following good practice and maintaining backfiles if a journal has
ceased or changed publishers, etc.) He also highlights the LOCKSS
(Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) project, praises the publishers who
are participating, and chides the holdouts for their
fecklessness.