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The Internet Archive at least since it'll keep a URL alive and consistent a lot longer. At least plain URLs can be manually passed to the internet archive for

The Internet Archive at least since it'll keep a URL alive and consistent a lot longer. At least plain URLs can be manually passed to the internet archive for a lookup, but I'd love if publishers/authors made a habit of maintaining their source links (via shortlinks, published errata, etc). That said, even with how easy it is to update, Wikipedia suffers from this immensely. I can't count how many times I've tried to track back a source from a wiki and end up with a 404.

dusted 5y ago
That rests on the assumption that IA will outlast everything else, which is unresasonable, if nothing else because, while it may be supported by the community, when Kahle becomes unavailable to the project for one reason or the other, there's no saying what will really happen to it.
- chongli 5y ago
  The IA has well over 100 employees, possibly over 200 at this point. With a very strong mission statement, I have to imagine they have a very good culture dedicated to Brewster’s goals. I’m sure he’ll choose a very good successor. I’m sure he’s already taken considerable steps to codify his mission into a charter. He’s a very smart guy and he’s worked too hard to allow his vision to falter when he retires. Furthermore, archivist is a full blown profession with its own professional society. I’m sure IA will always be able to hire people who are serious about preserving and cataloguing information.
  - Mezzie 5y ago
    I'm curious who it's going to be and what field his successor will come from. As a coder/developer with an MLIS + a decade of library experience, in my experience there aren't that many people who grok both the tech and the politics/people aspect around preservation, which you would need to head IA. I wouldn't be shocked if, if IA is around in a few decades, they start expanding into educational partnerships to ensure the vision continues. Or institute fellowships. Or they may just inspire more people; IA's work was one of the things that convinced me to pursue an MLIS (as a girl, I was discouraged at the time from CS). Or we'll start seeing more degree specializations that mesh the two, like HCI concentrations.
dgellow 5y ago
> I can't count how many times I've tried to track back a source from a wiki and end up with a 404. Yes, that's really frustrating. I often have the situation where I click on a reference for a claimed fact and get redirected to the front page of a news website.
emodendroket 5y ago
Typical citation formats have a date referenced so you're free to try that yourself.

dusted 5y ago

That rests on the assumption that IA will outlast everything else, which is unresasonable, if nothing else because, while it may be supported by the community, when Kahle becomes unavailable to the project for one reason or the other, there's no saying what will really happen to it.

chongli 5y ago
The IA has well over 100 employees, possibly over 200 at this point. With a very strong mission statement, I have to imagine they have a very good culture dedicated to Brewster’s goals. I’m sure he’ll choose a very good successor. I’m sure he’s already taken considerable steps to codify his mission into a charter. He’s a very smart guy and he’s worked too hard to allow his vision to falter when he retires. Furthermore, archivist is a full blown profession with its own professional society. I’m sure IA will always be able to hire people who are serious about preserving and cataloguing information.
- Mezzie 5y ago
  I'm curious who it's going to be and what field his successor will come from. As a coder/developer with an MLIS + a decade of library experience, in my experience there aren't that many people who grok both the tech and the politics/people aspect around preservation, which you would need to head IA. I wouldn't be shocked if, if IA is around in a few decades, they start expanding into educational partnerships to ensure the vision continues. Or institute fellowships. Or they may just inspire more people; IA's work was one of the things that convinced me to pursue an MLIS (as a girl, I was discouraged at the time from CS). Or we'll start seeing more degree specializations that mesh the two, like HCI concentrations.

dgellow 5y ago

> I can't count how many times I've tried to track back a source from a wiki and end up with a 404. Yes, that's really frustrating. I often have the situation where I click on a reference for a claimed fact and get redirected to the front page of a news website.

emodendroket 5y ago

Typical citation formats have a date referenced so you're free to try that yourself.