When users visit data.gov — the federal government's catalog of open data sets — they are met with a note that the website will be unavailable until further notice "due to a lapse in government funding," FedScoop reports.
The warning also notes that "updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at USA.gov," which is available, but not being updated.
Data.gov doesn't host data directly. Instead, it aggregates metadata about open data resources. Users can track down more than 300,000 data sets on the site, which redirects them to the page where the data set can be downloaded.
"As data.gov is not a static site, it requires staff monitoring and maintenance to be online," a General Services Administration spokesperson told FedScoop. "Because personnel that monitor and maintain the site are currently furloughed, data.gov redirects to usa.gov. The decision to take data.gov offline is consistent with previous funding lapse practices."