4 ms·

Government bureaucracy isn't noticably better. Everyone was writing over their tape archives back then, including the BBC (see: Doctor Who lost episodes) and, u

Government bureaucracy isn't noticably better. Everyone was writing over their tape archives back then, including the BBC (see: Doctor Who lost episodes) and, uh, NASA (the moon landings).

pmoriarty 7y ago
Governments might not be perfect, but they have a far, far better track record than for-profit corporations. The Library of Congress is one prominent example of archiving excellence. Many other public libraries and archives offer other examples.
- roywiggins 7y ago
  Sure- if you choose to fund an archive! It's when you don't that you get things like the BBC taping over old episodes to save money. Without an actual dedicated archive (and $$$ to fund it) both corporations and governments will let stuff fall into the memory hole. Some companies do choose to keep archives: https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.45.3.l25q0546n1263t80 https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.45.3.l25...
  - caseysoftware 7y ago
    Even if you get funding for new media (why the BBC recording over things), someone has to be believe that material is important because reusing media is still cheaper and they'll use that budget elsewhere. * Former Library of Congress contractor here
- caseysoftware 7y ago
  I used to work on the Digital Archives at the Library of Congress. It's not that they're exceptionally better at it. In fact, the Library has warehouses of materials that they still haven't cataloged, let alone organized or (better) digitized. Their primary focus has been the "sexy" projects like spool recordings, wax cylinders, etc that make for cool stories and mitigate decay (aka destruction) over modern material. The big problem is that of collection. While in theory, anything that is a registered copyright in the US should be on file, most people don't take the time to register, let alone send off a copy. The Library & National Archives aren't "better" at it.. it's that it's their primary purpose so the fact that they do it puts it above most other groups.
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    What I find telling of the US National Archives is that the unit of measurment for the collections (particularly the uncatalogued backlog) is millions of cubic feet. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/summer/backlog.html https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/summer/b...
- kweinber 7y ago
  Another great example is that huge warehouse where they stored the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Indiana Jones.
LocalH 7y ago
Honestly, pirates tend to have the best archival and preservation results.

Government bureaucracy isn't noticably better. Everyone was writing over their tape archives back then, including the BBC (see: Doctor Who lost episodes) and, uh, NASA (the moon landings).

pmoriarty 7y ago

Governments might not be perfect, but they have a far, far better track record than for-profit corporations. The Library of Congress is one prominent example of archiving excellence. Many other public libraries and archives offer other examples.

roywiggins 7y ago
Sure- if you choose to fund an archive! It's when you don't that you get things like the BBC taping over old episodes to save money. Without an actual dedicated archive (and $$$ to fund it) both corporations and governments will let stuff fall into the memory hole. Some companies do choose to keep archives: https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.45.3.l25q0546n1263t80 https://americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.45.3.l25...
- caseysoftware 7y ago
  Even if you get funding for new media (why the BBC recording over things), someone has to be believe that material is important because reusing media is still cheaper and they'll use that budget elsewhere. * Former Library of Congress contractor here
caseysoftware 7y ago
I used to work on the Digital Archives at the Library of Congress. It's not that they're exceptionally better at it. In fact, the Library has warehouses of materials that they still haven't cataloged, let alone organized or (better) digitized. Their primary focus has been the "sexy" projects like spool recordings, wax cylinders, etc that make for cool stories and mitigate decay (aka destruction) over modern material. The big problem is that of collection. While in theory, anything that is a registered copyright in the US should be on file, most people don't take the time to register, let alone send off a copy. The Library & National Archives aren't "better" at it.. it's that it's their primary purpose so the fact that they do it puts it above most other groups.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  What I find telling of the US National Archives is that the unit of measurment for the collections (particularly the uncatalogued backlog) is millions of cubic feet. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/summer/backlog.html https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/summer/b...
kweinber 7y ago
Another great example is that huge warehouse where they stored the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Indiana Jones.

LocalH 7y ago

Honestly, pirates tend to have the best archival and preservation results.