Subject: Re: Source Format of RFCs -- best kept on-line

From: Henk Langeveld - ENS Europe <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 15:48:10 +0100

Herman R. Silbiger(Mon, Nov 30, 1998 at 10:47:12PM -0500):
> The only true archival format is print on acid-free paper or
> microfilm, both of which can be produced without difficulty and could
> always be concerted back into digital format.

Keeping the files on-line, allowing all of the world access
is the best protection against any media subject to aging.

The practice is as old as ancient times - regularly transfer
your date from old to new media.  Ancient times had the problem
that the copying process was liable to the introduction of 
errors.  Digital technology not, once the basic format has been
decided on.

I wonder, on how many disks has rfc791 lived at the ietf's official
reference site?  Does the original host carrying that disk still
exist?  Does anyone have an acid-free paper copy that was printed
in '81?  Frankly, I don't care...  If I want to read an rfc,
I type 'rfc xxx' and I get to see the text.  In some cases, I'll
have to wait, as the doc is not in my private cache, and has to 
be fetched from the source. 

Regards,
Henk Langeveld

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From: Henk Langeveld - ENS Europe <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 15:48:10 +0100

Regards,
Henk Langeveld