
Creating Records That Will Last - Tomte
http://copar.org/bulletin14.htm
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nayuki
The article doesn't have a date, so I'm guessing it was written roughly around
year 1995. In the present day, I would make these recommendations for creating
records that will last:

* Create new artifacts digitally, and stop worrying about printing them on acid-free paper or whatnot.

* Digitize existing analog media. Scan those old papers and film reels; record those magnetic tapes and vinyl discs. No media (analog or digital) lasts forever.

* Use open, time-tested formats like plain text, Markdown, HTML, BMP, PNG, uncompressed WAV, FLAC.

* Make multiple copies of the data files and store them at different physical locations. Use whatever technology is appropriate (e.g. HDD, CD/DVD/BD-R, flash memory, online cloud).

* Have cryptographic hashes of every file and the entire collection. This can be accomplished with Git, BitTorrent, or manual scripting.

* Consider letting the public download the entire set of data. This increases accessibility, and raises awareness and interest. More copies means better survival through time.

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tejtm
"I'm guessing it was written roughly around year 1995"

I think you are on to something

[http://copar.org/par/par19_references.pdf](http://copar.org/par/par19_references.pdf)

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tejtm
from them: best practices for physical media

I would add: on the digital side, practice good identifier hygiene [0]

[0]
[https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/jou...](https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2001414)

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ghotli
Obligatory link to the digital dark ages wikipedia. Not that I actually do
this much, but having a physical record of things I care about is something
that does rattle around in the back of my mind. My dad has a letter written
from his great great grandmother writing to her mother about the confederate
soldiers stationed near the property. She describes them as heathens, living
in an awful tent city, with very poor manners.

It's just remarks of the day to day, but idk it's always stuck with me as the
kind of artifact that they won't be able to just find in their grandparents
house when they pass away because it's all digital now. Hard drives and usb
keys, sure maybe there's good stuff on there. Maybe having a lasting record of
me being on earth doesn't really honestly matter. But man, I sure would like
to know that one of my distant descendants enjoys something of my legacy. Even
if it's just a single letter. It'll probably be a youtube video instead
though.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_dark_age](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_dark_age)

~~~
rorykoehler
That's why I bought a photo printer. I have photos of 2 of my 3x-great-
grandfathers from the 1870's. One of them was born in France and emigrated to
the US. I love these photos, they tell a story in a way that no words will
ever be able to.

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javiramos
Lately, I worked with a couple of research groups conceptualizing practical
ways to achieve DNA archiving. I think that DNA or molecular-based archiving
will become a thing. DNA is really good as an archival medium.

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knolax
"Digital preservation is a topic to be addressed in a forthcoming CoPAR
Bulletin No. 15"

Yet it doesn't seem to be on the site. Was Bulletin 15 ever published?

