Date:         Thu, 10 Jul 2003 09:55:11 +0000
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         Don Cox <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Preservation/dissemination of info
Comments: To: Association for Recorded Sound Discussi <[log in to unmask]>
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On 09/07/03, Mike Richter wrote:

>> So what would be needed is a new meta tag for HTML to indicate to a
>> bot that the page contains sound archives. For example, <meta
>> name="robots" content="soundarchive">
>
> That could be of value if there were also a commitment to eternal
> preservation of that soundarchive. I keep my files up for two weeks.
> Others may keep them up until they change interest or ISP. Others may
> intend to maintain them as long as the Internet shall last - which may
> not be anywhere near as long as people seem to assume.

I would assume that an archive site would be planning to make its files
available for an unlimited period. Probably most would be run by
libraries or museums.

Lossless versions of the files must be available for download if the
site is to be of use for research. I suppose MP3s could be used for an
index. They might be all that some researchers need if the material is
oral history.

Now that hard drives are getting bigger, sound archives on line should
be more practical. You can buy a drive to store 100 hours of
uncompressed CD quality sound in any computer shop for the price of a
pair of trainers. In another couple of years, that will be 100 hours of
24/96 quality.

The reason to keep the quality as high as possible is that nobody knows
what subtle methods of analysis will be developed in the future.

Regards
--
Don Cox
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