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If we reach a point where people working in the archive don’t know what a computer is, we’re at the point where we don’t need to know what Dave’s will had in it
by MagicMoonlight 3y ago
If we reach a point where people working in the archive don’t know what a computer is, we’re at the point where we don’t need to know what Dave’s will had in it.
Think about what you are protecting here. Dave’s will. Ol’ davo from down pub. Literally meaningless beyond the potential for mild curiosity in a hundred years.
If the worst happened and we lose them, it’s insignificant. Planning for the preservation of davo’s will in the event of an apocalypse is a waste of our time.
- alasarmas 3y agoWhat if that is not Dave’s will, but Dave’s first novel? Or the technical manual to Dave’s computer system, where the onboard help files are just a URL that points to a dead server? Knowledge preservation in the face of disaster is not a pointless effort. Further, there is a difference between “knowing what a computer is” and “recognizing a specific manifestation of computing technology”. For example, this picture [0]. The URL is somewhat descriptive, but say you were presented with that piece of technology. Would you recognize it? Would you think that it could be important? Would you be able to get it running? For me, personally, it would be a significant effort in terms of time spent… and I certainly wouldn’t be able to recognize it just from that picture. 0. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/ZIP_Drive_100%2C_5.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/ZIP_Driv...