OK so I lied...

...I told someone that I wasn't making any more posts about the LJ brouhaha, but this is slightly related. XD

My reaction to people complaining about archives and backfiles being purged or vanishing is:

If you do not have at least two different backups of data, one of them offsite (preferably both, and in two different places), then you do not have a backup.

Don't rely on any one site, service or piece of equipment to hold data for you. If you mod a community or an archive, arrange for backup of content and keep it up-to-date. Check your backup methods and materials on a regular basis, and consider re-archiving regularly.*

This has been your public service announcement for the day.




* Eight or so years ago, when I was working in the slide collection and talking with other slide collections about a digital archive, the University of Colorado slide librarian told me that when they looked into it, they found that the lifespan of a CD was 5 years. They committed to a program of re-burning their entire digital collection every year and a half, to prevent any potential data loss.

(no subject)

Drawings of male superheroes based on cover and pinup shots of female superheroes.

Mind you, the Gambit one looks like you'd find it in manga. XD

I NEED TO GO CLEAN HOUSE NOW.*



* This is not a feminist or antifeminist statement, it's a reflection of the fact that there's a protective layer of dust and cat hair over every surface in the apartment and someone besides me and the cat will be here today.