Historically, information was more likely to be saved by accident. If something was published in print, that means that copies of it were distributed nationally or globally, found in hundreds of homes or libraries. If the publisher went out of business, people would still have physical publications lying around. And if something came to be of historical interest 50 years later, it could be preserved forever. If a web publication or community goes out of business, where's that data going to be 50 years later?