Featuring MeFi's own MetaFilter July 5, 2017 11:31 AM Subscribe
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has announced the creation of the library's Web Cultures Web Archive Collection. Archived sites of note run the gamut from Urban Dictionary to ¡Cuánto cabrón! to creepypasta to MeFi's own Metafilter. [h/t]
Direct link to their Metafilter page.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:33 AM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:33 AM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I knew we could do it.
posted by maxsparber at 11:53 AM on July 5, 2017
posted by maxsparber at 11:53 AM on July 5, 2017
Subject Headings
- Web portals
- Folklore and Mythology
...not sure those are the most accurate, somehow....
posted by tzikeh at 11:56 AM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
- Web portals
- Folklore and Mythology
...not sure those are the most accurate, somehow....
posted by tzikeh at 11:56 AM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
The site presents a running commentary on a range of different issues that develop from everyday people.
You know, this would make a not-bad T-shirt.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
You know, this would make a not-bad T-shirt.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
Speaking of culture, I've left this yogurt out on my driveway for eight days, should I eat it?
(also, YAY!)
posted by bondcliff at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
(also, YAY!)
posted by bondcliff at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2017 [5 favorites]
Nice. I wish something like this would have happened years ago, though. Oh, to have an archive of all those Dreamless threads somewhere...
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by Fish Sauce at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2017
Direct link to their Metafilter page.
And it has the classic theme colors. SWEET.
posted by Melismata at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
And it has the classic theme colors. SWEET.
posted by Melismata at 12:04 PM on July 5, 2017 [7 favorites]
....Holy crap, this means that things I've written are now part of the Library of Congress.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:18 PM on July 5, 2017 [18 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:18 PM on July 5, 2017 [18 favorites]
Direct link to their Metafilter page.
D'oh!
posted by Room 641-A at 12:22 PM on July 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
D'oh!
posted by Room 641-A at 12:22 PM on July 5, 2017 [3 favorites]
So, what are we, folks or myths?
posted by jonmc at 12:47 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 12:47 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
I wholeheartedly agree with this classamacationizationism.
posted by clavdivs at 1:02 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by clavdivs at 1:02 PM on July 5, 2017
....Holy crap, this means that things I've written are now part of the Library of Congress.
I think this is also true if you're on Twitter? Anyway this is neat, thank you for sharing it!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:06 PM on July 5, 2017
I think this is also true if you're on Twitter? Anyway this is neat, thank you for sharing it!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:06 PM on July 5, 2017
This means that two of my favorite things in the world are united. Wow.
Hi Folklife Center!
posted by Miko at 1:13 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hi Folklife Center!
posted by Miko at 1:13 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
We're right in there with YTMND and the LOLCat Bible translators, so I wouldn't put too many feathers in those caps just yet.
posted by yhbc at 1:15 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by yhbc at 1:15 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
We're right in there with YTMND and the LOLCat Bible translators
Those sites, plus ours, will help alien archaeologists accurately reconstruct the lost world of earth humans.
posted by betweenthebars at 1:19 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Those sites, plus ours, will help alien archaeologists accurately reconstruct the lost world of earth humans.
posted by betweenthebars at 1:19 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
The site presents a running commentary on a range of different issues that develop from everyday people.
I have not thought of you all as everyday people.
posted by paduasoy at 1:37 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
I have not thought of you all as everyday people.
posted by paduasoy at 1:37 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
Wow, how cool!
posted by SisterHavana at 1:39 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by SisterHavana at 1:39 PM on July 5, 2017
Yeah, I'm only a people on alternate Thursdays.
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:46 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by nebulawindphone at 1:46 PM on July 5, 2017
I am everyday people.
posted by maxsparber at 2:03 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 2:03 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
Oh sha sha we got to live together.
posted by maxsparber at 2:04 PM on July 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 2:04 PM on July 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
Alright! We made it into the Library of Congress only a week after Octopus Pie (and xkcd and SMBC and Hark a Vagrant).
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:23 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:23 PM on July 5, 2017 [2 favorites]
your love is like
a Metafilter, baby and I
I wanna post
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:03 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
a Metafilter, baby and I
I wanna post
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:03 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Folklore and Mythology...there's plenty of lore here but not much of it is folksy. Crouton petting? This [thing], it vibrates? I have a fish in my pants?
I suppose there are many users whose usernames are mythological. Still. It doesn't seem like a totally apt description of MetaFilter.
posted by bendy at 3:33 PM on July 5, 2017
I suppose there are many users whose usernames are mythological. Still. It doesn't seem like a totally apt description of MetaFilter.
posted by bendy at 3:33 PM on July 5, 2017
I love this!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:08 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 4:08 PM on July 5, 2017
It's pretty impressive that we are one of only 34 sites in the entire online universe to make this list.
posted by Room 641-A at 4:16 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Room 641-A at 4:16 PM on July 5, 2017 [4 favorites]
But those 34 sites link to all of the other sites in the entire online universe. So it's like we are the conduits between the entire online universe and the Library of Congress. It's also like they don't have to link to the rest of the online universe, because, well, why duplicate the effort?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:12 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:12 PM on July 5, 2017
Huh. I already had my Smithsonian spot (well sort of, it's a Story), now apparently I have my LoC spot, what other collections do I need to enter to make the national treasure (NOT the movie!) trifecta?
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:57 PM on July 5, 2017
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:57 PM on July 5, 2017
what other collections do I need to enter to make the national treasure (NOT the movie!) trifecta?
Submit a FOIA request on yourself and see if you've made any other significant government lists. ("Most Wanted" means "National Treasure" right?)
posted by Room 641-A at 8:32 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Submit a FOIA request on yourself and see if you've made any other significant government lists. ("Most Wanted" means "National Treasure" right?)
posted by Room 641-A at 8:32 PM on July 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Considering I've stumbled completely accidentally into the other two an, FBI report seems to follow the pattern. I'll totally do it and report back...
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:35 AM on July 6, 2017
posted by 1f2frfbf at 5:35 AM on July 6, 2017
Is there any explanation as to why and when the individual website snapshots are taken?
I'm assuming the huge number collected in from the last quarter of 2001 have to do with Everyday People reacting to the post-9/11 world.
For other dates, it's not necessarily clear to me. The About page describes their mission and general goals, and the FAQ mentions a few things, but I'd love to know what it is on each day that triggered a snapshot (or multiple ones).
posted by Kabanos at 10:07 AM on July 6, 2017
I'm assuming the huge number collected in from the last quarter of 2001 have to do with Everyday People reacting to the post-9/11 world.
For other dates, it's not necessarily clear to me. The About page describes their mission and general goals, and the FAQ mentions a few things, but I'd love to know what it is on each day that triggered a snapshot (or multiple ones).
posted by Kabanos at 10:07 AM on July 6, 2017
Part of...
Web Cultures Web Archive (34)
American Folklife Center (32,024)
But I also just found that it's listed separately as part of..
September 11, 2001 Web Archive (2,311)
posted by Kabanos at 10:12 AM on July 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Web Cultures Web Archive (34)
American Folklife Center (32,024)
But I also just found that it's listed separately as part of..
September 11, 2001 Web Archive (2,311)
posted by Kabanos at 10:12 AM on July 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
LobsterMitten: Direct link to their Metafilter page.
For those wondering, the screencap is from the front page on October 1, 2005 (link to MetaFilter's own October 2005 archives), with the first post on the page being The elder statesman of aeronautical experiments.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:43 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
For those wondering, the screencap is from the front page on October 1, 2005 (link to MetaFilter's own October 2005 archives), with the first post on the page being The elder statesman of aeronautical experiments.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:43 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seems odd that they've begun their archive less than two weeks after the 9/11 thread, one of MetaFilter's best-known.
posted by cgc373 at 3:36 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by cgc373 at 3:36 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
No, what seems odd is that this MeTa has been here for over a day and yet somehow I'm the one who finally gets around to saying
MetaFilter: The site presents a running commentary on a range of different issues that develop from everyday people.
posted by nickmark at 3:58 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: The site presents a running commentary on a range of different issues that develop from everyday people.
posted by nickmark at 3:58 PM on July 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: The site presents a running commentary on a range of different issues that develop from everyday people.
That's because...
MetaFilter: It's Made of People!
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:38 PM on July 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
That's because...
MetaFilter: It's Made of People!
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:38 PM on July 6, 2017 [3 favorites]
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:33 PM on July 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:33 PM on July 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
Kabanos: "Is there any explanation as to why and when the individual website snapshots are taken?
I'm assuming the huge number collected in from the last quarter of 2001 have to do with Everyday People reacting to the post-9/11 world.
For other dates, it's not necessarily clear to me. The About page describes their mission and general goals, and the FAQ mentions a few things, but I'd love to know what it is on each day that triggered a snapshot (or multiple ones)."
That is weird. It looks very similar to the interface Archive.org uses for the Wayback Machine, but its coverage of Metafilter is far more extensive. Over 100,000 URLs total, albeit with a lot of duplicates and back-end stuff like RSS feeds.
As much of an honor as it is to be archived by LOC, it's a little disappointing they didn't go whole-hog and crawl the entire site. It's almost 100% text, right? If your goal is to preserve web culture, a few dozen snapshots of the front page where most of the internal links point nowhere isn't ideal.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:29 PM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm assuming the huge number collected in from the last quarter of 2001 have to do with Everyday People reacting to the post-9/11 world.
For other dates, it's not necessarily clear to me. The About page describes their mission and general goals, and the FAQ mentions a few things, but I'd love to know what it is on each day that triggered a snapshot (or multiple ones)."
That is weird. It looks very similar to the interface Archive.org uses for the Wayback Machine, but its coverage of Metafilter is far more extensive. Over 100,000 URLs total, albeit with a lot of duplicates and back-end stuff like RSS feeds.
As much of an honor as it is to be archived by LOC, it's a little disappointing they didn't go whole-hog and crawl the entire site. It's almost 100% text, right? If your goal is to preserve web culture, a few dozen snapshots of the front page where most of the internal links point nowhere isn't ideal.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:29 PM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Also, I was just checking out the archived YTMND (sort of like a YouTube centered on meme-y image/sound mashups) and none of the pages even work. Like, they're technically in the database, but just as black pages with no content. The site is a premier example of emerging web culture, and granted it's got to be a tricky technical challenge to preserve its unique kind of media, but what's the point of "archiving" it if you're not actually archiving what makes it noteworthy?
posted by Rhaomi at 12:37 PM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Rhaomi at 12:37 PM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:32 AM on July 5, 2017