Your History Has Left the Building: The Internet is (still) Rotting (The Atlantic)

In honor of Halloween and the need for scary stories, I recommend this June 2021 article from “The Atlantic” for anyone and everyone who wants to believe that information can be found online 1, 5, 50, or possibly 500 years from now. (Hahahaha)

Note: “The Atlantic” is a subscription service, but may still allow a few free article downloads. You can also check if one of your library databases (academic or public) includes access to “The Atlantic.” 

“The Internet Is Rotting: Too much has been lost already. The glue that holds humanity’s knowledge together is coming undone,” by Jonathan Zittrain

Jonathan Zittrain is a law professor and computer-science professor at Harvard, and a co-founder of its Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

We (law librarians, technologists, and other Cassandras) have been telling readers about this problem for decades; maybe you’ll listen to Professor Zittrain … but I’m not holding my breath.