Re: CHAT: facing your own mortality (as a conlanger)

 > Från: Rick Harrison <rick@...>
 > Datum: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 18:11:11 -0400
 > Till: CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu
 >
 > Dana, imagine this scenario. You get an email
 > from a woman who says her father had once worked
 > on a conlang similar to Sasasek but different in
 > some interesting ways. Unfortunately he died
 > before he could publish anything, but she is
 > willing to send you his computer files. You
 > provide her your snailmail address and eagerly
 > await the package.
 >
 > When you open the box, you find punch-cards and
 > 8-inch floppies.
 >
 > If the guy had kept his notes on paper, you'd be
 > able to read them. But because he used the
 > computer technology of the day, it will be
 > difficult. If the floppies were stored in a warm
 > humid attic or garage, you probably won't get
 > any data off of them, even if you can find the
 > needed apparatus.

I wonder if it would be possible to engrave data
DVDs into some durable metal? That should outlast
both floppies and printed books, provided the
apparatus to read them still exists -- which is
akin to having to know ancient languages in order
to read ancient manuscripts -- not to mention the
technology needed to preserve and handle them.

I have several boxes full of 3.5 floppies and Zip
disks from my Mac days which are for all purposes
lost information, not to mention the three or four
crashed harddisks I've saved. So far I've been
largely spared to have CDs and DVDs damaged beyond
readability...

/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch atte melroch dotte se
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  "C'est en vain que nos Josués littéraires crient
  à la langue de s'arrêter; les langues ni le soleil
  ne s'arrêtent plus. Le jour où elles se *fixent*,
  c'est qu'elles meurent."           (Victor Hugo)

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