Currently every link is checked by exactly one Validator, eg FileLinkValidator or HTTPLinkValidator. In a multiproject build some links never exist locally but only after deployment. The basedir solution is not ideal because it forces one to use absolute links. It would be better to be able to (optionally) run other validators if a specific one fails. See the discussion: http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@maven.apache.org/msg69705.html