[game_preservation] Digital Press kickstarting a videogame history museum

[Devin Monnens]

Oh, I should clarify that Atkinson appears to be playing devil's advocate
here and setting up a straw man of common arguments against preservation in
museums.

On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 11:02 PM, Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com> wrote:


> Yeah, this stance was argued against by Doron Swade (Science Museum,

> London; directed the construction of the Babbage Engine). His article dealt

> with 'functional intactness' of museum artifacts as well as the curator's

> job of taking responsibility for the donated object (which to him logically

> extends to the functional intactness of the artifact). This concept is new

> to digital media because most older artifacts have a long time before they

> decay (biological matter being more susceptible, of course). Swade also

> states that the digital artifact must be in 100% working order (i.e. 0%

> corrupt) in order to be considered preserved due to unknown errors in

> operability that can result from a wrong bit here or there. Further, the

> software contains cultural information and is independent of the storage

> medium.

>

> The counterpoint to Swade's article discussed traditional museum objects

> and how 'working condition' is never really a factor for museums, suggesting

> that archives and libraries do the job. Further, it might be practically

> impossible for some old hardware to be restored to working condition (such

> as the Zuse machines - and further, if they could be restored, why hadn't

> they been restored yet? Attempts to operate them might also damage the

> existent hardware further, making it more important that they *not *be

> turned on). Also, when a machine is restored, there is a particular reason

> for doing so, and not all machines under this logic necessarily need to be

> restored.

>

> The heart of the matter is that the data stored in digital media is

> cultural and informative and therefore should be preserved - I don't think

> this could be argued against. Whether that media is preserved by a museum,

> archive, or library to me has little importance - if a museum contains a

> historical science book, isn't the information contained within that book as

> important as the structural integrity of the book? Isn't it therefore the

> museum's job to preserve that book? That if the book of - say scientific

> drawings of dinosaur fossils ca. 1880 - were in danger of decaying, it

> should be preserved, right?

>

> Similarly, a case could be made for the brass telescope, whose

> functionality could be important to a researcher of optics and/or astronomy

> interested in whether certain stellar phenomena or distant terrestrial

> objects were observable.

>

> Two years ago, I went to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Kyoto.

> Umekoji maintains several steam engines in working order. The engines are

> run daily and are well-maintained, though there are some engines that are

> not in working order. Having engines running as demonstration models helps

> visitors understand the power of steam locomotives and get a taste of what

> the experience of riding in one was like. This would simply not be possible

> if the machines were static. There is a certain power to having hardware

> that is operational because it provides cultural context.

>

> With the content of digital media as both a vehicle of culture and its

> operation a cultural context, and the same ideas as applicable to other

> museum objects as well, the argument for museums concerning themselves with

> functionality becomes stronger and remains relevant.

>

> *History of Computing: Software Issues *(2002)

> Doron Swade: "Collecting Software: Preserving Information in an

> Object-Centered Culture" (227-235)

> David K. Allison: "Commentary on Doron Swade..." (237-244)

>

> On Thu, Jul 7, 2011 at 9:02 PM, Jim Leonard <trixter at oldskool.org> wrote:

>

>> On 7/7/2011 8:07 AM, Devin Monnens wrote:

>>

>>> so whether the data on a floppy disk is readable is kind of

>>> irrelevant.

>>>

>>

>> I am always blown away by archivists who think this way.  (I know you

>> don't, you're just relaying the information.)  I doubt a Webster's 2nd

>> edition would be worth anything if the pages were unreadable.

>>

>> I wonder if they take it a step further and treat the diskette itself as

>> optional, which leaves you with an effectively empty box.

>> --

>> Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org)            http://www.oldskool.org/

>> Check out some trippy MindCandy at        http://www.mindcandydvd.com/

>> A child borne of the home computer wars:  http://trixter.oldskool.org/

>>

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>>

>

>

>

> --

> Devin Monnens

> www.deserthat.com

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>




-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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