Slashdot Mirror
We're In Danger of Losing Our Memories
Hugh Pickens writes "The chief executive of the British Library, Lynne Brindley, says that our cultural heritage is at risk as the Internet evolves and technologies become obsolete, and that historians and citizens face a 'black hole' in the knowledge base of the 21st century unless urgent action is taken to preserve websites and other digital records. For example, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as US president last week, all traces of George W. Bush disappeared from the White House website. There were more than 150 websites relating to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney that vanished instantly at the end of the games and are now stored only by the National Library of Australia. 'If websites continue to disappear in the same way as those on President Bush and the Sydney Olympics... the memory of the nation disappears too,' says Brindley. The library plans to create a comprehensive archive of material from the 8M .uk domain websites, and also is organizing a collecting and archiving project for the London 2012 Olympics. 'The task of capturing our online intellectual heritage and preserving it for the long term falls, quite rightly, to the same libraries and archives that have over centuries systematically collected books, periodicals, newspapers, and recordings...'" Over the years we've discussed various aspects of this archiving problem.
For example, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as US president last week, all traces of George W. Bush disappeared from the White House website.
One could argue that was a good thing...
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
Um....personally I want every detail of the Bush administration recorded in history books... ....under a section titled, "Never, ever, do this again."
Step 1. Never elect the child of a former President.
Step 2. ???
Step 3. Pay off the National Debt!!!
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Indeed.
In that same vein, I'm wondering how badly "troll" or "offtopic" I'll get modded for this comment:
Somehow I find it rather satisfying that the technology "black hole" means that, very likely, the last President on "permanent record" will be Ronald Reagan.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
Vietnam War: Kennedy (D). (makes iraq look like a walk in the park)
The Korean War: Truman (D). (A force retreat, some people call it a victory because they only took over most of the country)
World War II: Rosevelt (D). (more dead americans than any war in history)
While we're on the topic of burning karma to point out moderation flaws, your post definitely deserves a -1 No Sense of Humor. Get over yourself.
I fully support the disappearance of George W Bush anyway.