How and why do documents expire?

Document expiration is one of the primary ways that the KB prevents out-of-date content from appearing to end users. By requiring documents to be periodically reviewed and have their expiration extended, it ensures that documents that are no longer being actively maintained (and may no longer be accurate) do not remain published.

When a KB document is first created, its expiration is set for one year in the future. As that date approaches, a notification is sent out to the owner and group admin(s) requesting review of the document. See KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Reviewing Expiring Documents for more information on this process.

What happens when a document expires?

If the expiration date of an Active document passes without being extended, the document will be removed from the live site(s) where it had been published. The following morning, a notification will be sent to the owner and the group admin(s). Document expiration does not change the status of the document, but it does override the Active status to make the document unavailable.

The document will also be flagged in the KB Admin Tools. See KB User's Guide - Documents Tab - Expired Documents for more information.