nullNov 9, 2022

While I'm typing out my novice thoughts on #digitalhistory #digitalhumanities have we stopped to consider the problem of our permanent tenant-style inhabitance of the internet? I can buy any number of things IRL and own them forever, but none of them are web space. Web space must be maintained monthly/yearly or exploited by a site paying those fees.

My smart tech partner @JeromeySims points out that I could own a slice of the web if I owned the physical tech and connection itself. What a massive hurdle to ensure my permanent ownership (or space, really -- I don't need to be a settler in the internet space).

This is like if I spent years building a house and, if I didn't pay my mortgage one month, someone came and burned it and its contents to the ground leaving only pictures of it on archive.org. #histodons @histodons

Show threadTorsten KathkeNov 9, 2022
@micah @JeromeySims @histodons That’s a very interesting way to think about it. I wonder how much of it is culturally conditioned, e.g. the home ownership metaphor. Here in Germany, most people rent and many do not aspire to own because there are pretty decent renters protections and rents aren’t exorbitant in most places (nothing‘s perfect, of course, but still). I wonder how much how we think about virtual space is bound to the physical spaces we live in.
Show threadnullNov 9, 2022
@torstenkathke @JeromeySims @histodons I agree about the metaphor, but I stand on my point here -- how can digital scholarship have the staying power of physical prints without individual/press/university ownership and responsibility?
Show threadTorsten Kathke

@micah @JeromeySims @histodons I think they’re connected. You can buy and own things indefinitely, but that doesn’t mean it won’t incur further costs. Upkeep, repair, a physical place to keep it that nothing else can occupy, climate control, etc. Maintenance is at the heart of the physical world as much as it is the digital.

Your point is well taken though: we don’t have all the systems/standards/practices in place. Society needs a better handle on this.

Nov 9, 2022 at 5:23pmMastodon for iOS