A Thread about Internet Archive's “Silent Killer” (twitter.com)

Article summary

The Internet Archive is facing a 'silent killer' due to the rapid growth of its storage needs, with its collection growing from 5 petabytes in 2011 to over 60 petabytes in 2019. The archive is hosting over 40 million public media items and adding 15,000 new items daily. The organization is encouraging donations to support its mission. The archive's storage needs are driven by its efforts to preserve websites, social media, and other online content that is at risk of being lost.

Main themes

• Internet Archive
• data preservation
• storage needs
• donations
• online content
• digital legacy

What commenters say

• The Internet Archive's efforts to preserve online content are crucial for historical and cultural purposes, and donations are necessary to support this mission. Some people argue that not all online content needs to be archived, and that this can lead to privacy concerns and the preservation of unnecessary or harmful information. Others believe that the benefits of archiving online content outweigh the potential drawbacks, and that it provides a valuable window into the past. There are also concerns about the potential for archived content to be used to harm or embarrass individuals, particularly those who may become public figures. The use of Twitter threads as a publishing format is seen as both convenient and problematic, with some arguing that it is not suitable for longer-form content. Some people value the ephemeral nature of online content and are hesitant to support efforts to preserve it indefinitely. The archiving of online content raises important questions about privacy, reputation, and the potential consequences of preserving large amounts of personal data.