Authoritative Mineweeper started collecting Minesweeper scores on 6 April 2000 and hosts the world ranking for the original game. Scores on this ranking are valid for submission to Guinness World Records. Microsoft has not officially endorsed the site but have been in touch and we have spoken to Robert Donner and Curt Johnson who are jointly credited as the authors of Microsoft Minesweeper.
Authoritative Mineweeper is a non-profit site run by "thefinerminer". Over the years several competing rankings have existed but longevity is key! Those rankings can now be found in the Website Archive. World rankings receive all the attention the other purpose of this site is to document and share the history of the community and its favourite game.
Where did the name come from? The site was created when internet search was based on directories managed by humans. You would navigate to the Minesweeper folder in the Games directory where reviewed Minesweeper sites would be listed alphabetically! The original site was called "The Authoritative Minesweeper" and aimed to help players become authoritative sweepers.
You can contact thefinerminer in the Forum on Discord or by emailing admin@minesweepergame.com.