Don Maslin/Archiving system software (was: ftp archives disappearing?)

I've been thinking recently about the whole issue of archival and preservation of classic software, especially system disks, as it is the "essential first step" to getting a classic system up and performing useful work. Several recent things have happened to prompt me to put my thoughts into words: - Mention of Don Maslin, and archival topics in recent postings here. - During a recent google search, I stumbled across a posting reminding me of details of the situation with Dons archive and family. - Correspondance with someone geographically quite distant from me that needed assistance in generating system disks for a classic system. Turning to the list I thought I could find someone closer to help him, yet the single response I received was from someone just as far away as I. I never got to know Don personally, however I did correspond with him on several occations, and it was apparent to me that he was knowlegable and committed to his work in preserving classic software. Add to that many testimonials and references to him that I've encountered in my travels, and It's clear that his contribution was not small. But... as we all know now, there was a fatal flaw in Dons operation. He put "all the eggs in one basket" by keeping his archive in a single physical form, and did not make arrangements for the preservation and continuance of that archive/service. We can learn from this. No matter how many times we say "too bad", and how much we hope that the archive will "reappear", this has not happened, and does not appear likely to happen. To my mind, there is really only one thing to do, which is to build a new archive. To that end, I would like to present as a topic for discussion the idea of a concerted effort by the members of this list to build a long-term archive of classic system software. Here are some of my own thoughts on such a project: = How to obtain material Although Dons archive has been lost, I would guess that between us we have much of the content of that archive (heck, many of us got copies of boot disks from Don), and also a whole lot of applicable material that was not in the archive. Between us we represent a great variety of working classic systems. I also do not expect to build a "complete" archive overnight (or ever), but with an ongoing effort, it will grow and grow... = How to store the archive I am a strong believer in preservation of the physical media as historic artifacts, however I believe it is also vital to preserve the data separately in modern formats, for several reasons: - It allows easy replication and mirroring in multiple locations. This will help insure that the material is not lost in the future through any single failure point (fire, flood, death, loss-of-interest - all of these things and more can wipe out a single physical archive). - It removes dependance on specific (and usually obsolete) physical media. No need to put wear and tear on the original artifacts, and allows for contingencies in the event that the original devices become inoperative. - Allows for easy sharing and movement of the data. - Allows everything to be tracked in a central repository (appropriately mirrored of course). - Allows anyone who wants to set up the required equipment to have complete access to the repository content. = How to go about building it A tricky question - Who's going to do all this work? The good news is that it can be shared, but it will require a bit of a committment. Not everyone is going to want to put up the investment to acquire the means to process their disk collection. What I am thinking of is several key volenteers positioned so as to cover the major geographic areas who would be willing to set up the necessary software and equipment to handle as many different media types as possible, and provide a service to nearby collectors to turn media into images, and to turn images into media. Working with others in the project, the images could be transmitted and shared so that any particuylar system disk can be accessed from anywhere. = How to make the archive available Another tricky question, which has two major components, legality and accessability. On the legal side, copyright issues are a concern. Among other things, we could consider doing what the SEBHC group has done with it's Heathkit archive, and NOT make the archive public. With SEBHC you have to apply for a (free) membership to access the archive. As for accessing the archive - how does someone get a boot disk for classic system X - if he's lucky and it can be created on a PC (or another Classic system that he has running), then he could obtain the image and necessary software directly from the archive. If he is not equipped to recreate the media, the the "key volenteers" mentioned above come into play - think of them as a worldwide network of Don Maslins, able to provide disks to others, but doing so in coordination with other archivists and using a central repository. If any one person drops out for whatever reason, someone else can fill in, and the system just keeps going. Lots more thoughts, but this is long enough for now... As most of you know, I've been taking some small steps along these lines with my own system disk repository, however it's simply not enough - I can only preserve the systems I come in contact with, and I would feel better if I knew others were keeping up to date mirrors of the material... (fortunately in addition to my two local copies, Jay has the actual complete site on classiccmp and backed up via his computer center). So whatdya say, is there any interest? (lotsa room for discussion here) Dave -- dave06a (at) Dave Dunfield dunfield (dot) Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com com Collector of vintage computing equipment: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/index.html