I agree that Yahoo's intent isn't the destruction of historical data, and that the phrasing is hyperbolic, but the end result is more accurate than not. Intern

I agree that Yahoo's intent isn't the destruction of historical data, and that the phrasing is hyperbolic, but the end result is more accurate than not. Internet companies and service providers like Yahoo have collected huge amounts of human communications, intent, and intellectual output ("UGC") that continues to have historical significance even if the commercial interest is no longer there. Maybe these companies don't make any implicit promises for archiving this data, but as a society, we're a lot poorer for its wholesale destruction and we should be thinking a lot more about the social contract/implications...