What does “retired” mean in relation to SPEC benchmarks?

SPEC will often retire a benchmark when there is a more recent replacement or sometimes when the original benchmark has become too out-of-date to continue to support. "Retired" means that SPEC no longer provides technical support or accepts result submissions for posting on the SPEC web site. Recognizing that there may be historical interest in these older benchmarks, in many cases it may still be possible to obtain copies of such a benchmark by contacting the SPEC office, but the buyer should be aware that additional support will not be provided. Notice of planned retirements will be posted on the SPEC web site, and such news is usually reported months in advance of the retirement date.