Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Discuss the old forum and how we would like to go on.
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a_k
Posts: 190
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:52 pm

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by a_k »

Hello everyone,

Many of you surely know the waybackmachine.org and archive.org, which keep snapshots of the internet. These archives make it possible to access a previous state of existing websites and also of websites which have ceased to exist.

A few weeks ago a large number of snapshots of holographyforum.org were accessible, with the newest ones being about 9 months old. Within a short period of time more and more of the forum's snapshots have disappeared. The most up to date version now is from May 2008. Only a few very incomplete, useless and inaccessible snapshots remain and it won't be long since all traces of the forum have disappeared.

I'm deeply worried about the fading away of the forum's internet archives. It looks like the only traces left from the forum's existence are the memories of the members and the images on Colin's server. I hope the backups of the forum data are safe and intact.

Ahmet
Martin

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by Martin »

I absolutely agree, this is very worrisome indeed. When holographyforum.org was shut down I also had a look at archive.org. At that time already the most up to date version of the forum was from 2008.

As one of the posters at network54 and holographyforum, I'm wondering too what's going to happen to all those messages (tips and tricks, theories and inventions actually). To say the least, I find it very troubling that just one guy can put down thousands of messages representing a treasure of experience to the holographic community all over the world. What about us authors and inventors? Does that mean we may have to be forced to re-construct the corpus of what we consider our most important posts? And then, do we have to publish them in journals or file patents etc. additionally to be safe from future legally induced breakdowns of this or another holography forum? That would involve tons of costs. Costs, which one would gladly see covered by that person who shut down the previous forum (wouldn't the whole thing fit for a class action lawsuit?).
Paulos
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:46 am

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by Paulos »

Colin,
since you have removed all threads referenced to Selwyn Lissack, I don't see the reason why the contents of holographyforum.org could not be transferred here or elsewhere.
You have at least two offers. It's up to you.
http://holoforum.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... art=30#p71
"....... If you think that it would make sense to have the locked up version of the forum to show in this forum, like the network54 postings in the holographyforum, i would be happy to create a similar subforum here and to insert the previous postings to keep everything together......
Ahmet "
Photonlexicon administrator, http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/sho ... post168948
"I do not have Colin's contact info but if someone here does - Would you be so kind to shoot him a message stating that PL will gladly rehost the forum data? "
Joe Farina
Posts: 804
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:10 pm

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by Joe Farina »

It would be nice to hear from Colin.

On the 27th of last month, he mentioned in another thread that he "should have a locked archive up and running in a couple weeks." He also mentioned on the same day that he would be sharing some ideas for the archive shortly, but I haven't heard anything yet.
a_k
Posts: 190
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 10:52 pm

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by a_k »

Hello,

I am certain that Colin has the best of intentions and that the previous postings will eventually become accessible again. He as announced that a locked down version of the forum should be up and running in a couple of weeks and that he has ideas about it which he wants to share shortly.

In my opinion the postings made become public domain once they are published and should remain public domain, accessible to everyone. They don't belong to one single person and the decison about their utilisation should be a collective one.

The recent events were instructive for me. I see how important it is to keep the members informed about all matters concerning the board and to keep the decisions transparent and accessible to all members of the board.

Precautions are taken and are being improved to ensure the security and integrity of this forum and it's contents. These precautions should ensure access to the forum's content with no or little interruptions.

But to ensure that the accessibility of the postings is independant from the forum, i would suggest that the contents are archived in regular periodic intervals and made accessible on different servers on the internet.

Ahmet
Joe Farina
Posts: 804
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:10 pm

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by Joe Farina »

a_k wrote:In my opinion the postings made become public domain once they are published and should remain public domain, accessible to everyone. They don't belong to one single person and the decison about their utilisation should be a collective one.
I agree, well said.
Colin Kaminski
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:22 am

Snapshots of holographyforum.org are disappearing

Post by Colin Kaminski »

An agreement to host the archive here is pending. Stay tuned.
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