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+# Short links for URLs in the book
+
+## The problem: link rot
+
+_Fluent Python, Second Edition_ has more than 1000 links to external resources.
+Inevitably, some of those links will rot as time passes.
+But I can't change the URLs in the print book!
+
+## The solution: indirection
+
+I replaced almost all URLs in the book with shortened versions that go through the `fpy.li` site which I control.
+The site has an `.htaccess` file with *temporary* redirects.
+
+When I find out a link is stale, I can thange the redirect in `.htaccess` to a new target,
+so the link in the book is back in service via the updated redirect.
+
+## Help wanted
+
+Please report broken links as bugs in the [`FPY.LI.htaccess`](FPY.LI.htaccess) file.
+Also, feel free to send pull requests with fixes to that file.
+When I accept a PR, I will redeploy it to `fpy.li/.htaccess`.
+
+## Details
+
+Almost all URLs in the book are replaced with shortened versions like
+[`http://fpy.li/1-3`](http://fpy.li/1-3)—for chapter 1, link #3.
+
+There are also custom short URLs like
+[`https://fpy.li/code`](https://fpy.li/code) which redirects to the example code repository.
+I used custom short URLs for URLs with 3 or more mentions, or links to PEPs.
+
+Exceptions:
+
+- URLs with `oreilly` in them are unchanged;
+- `fluentpython.com` URL (with no path) is unchanged;
+
+The `FPY.LI.htaccess` is deployed at the root folder in `http://fpy.li`.