[HN Gopher] The grab list: how museums decide what to save in a ...
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       The grab list: how museums decide what to save in a disaster
        
       Author : surprisetalk
       Score  : 59 points
       Date   : 2026-01-14 13:52 UTC (4 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.economist.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.economist.com)
        
       | ompogUe wrote:
       | They also try to do it by design: The Menil Collection in Houston
       | keeps their storage on the top floor to avoid damage from
       | Hurricane flooding.
        
       | lexicality wrote:
       | https://archive.is/TajtJ (2025)
        
         | Chris2048 wrote:
         | I wonder. Would it be possible for any/all submissions to
         | _automatically_ generate (and provide) and archive.is
         | /archive.org link? @dang
         | 
         | I can't think of any large downsides, it would mean every
         | submission would have an available snapshot for the given time,
         | and we would no longer need a user comment to provide this.
        
           | rouslyrunn wrote:
           | There's a big difference between accepting people will post
           | links that just happen to, sometimes get people past paywalls
           | - and operationalising that so it's the default behaviour
        
             | Chris2048 wrote:
             | Actually I'd say the opposite: If it only happens with
             | paywalled sites it's clear that its purpose it to
             | circumvent paywalls. If you always do it, It's so there is
             | a record of the original site at time of posting.
        
               | technotony wrote:
               | It would also help with sites that can't handle the
               | hacker News traffic load. Happens all the time
        
           | sidewndr46 wrote:
           | didn't google try this with AMP or whatever? It wasn't very
           | popular
        
           | appreciatorBus wrote:
           | One large downside is that publishers whose paywalls are
           | being circumvented by the act of submitting to HN, would
           | consider legal action against HN.
        
             | Chris2048 wrote:
             | Why isn't that already an issue then? archive.is links
             | remain, despite being easy to otherwise detect?
             | 
             | IANAL, but it would seem to me HN couldn't be liable, since
             | it is a third party (archive.is/org) caching the site. In
             | fact, I always assumed _that 's_ why the links aren't
             | removed.
        
           | pgwhalen wrote:
           | I'm confident that you didn't realize what you were saying,
           | but I really chuckled at "I can't think of any large
           | downsides [in institutionalizing a clearly very legally
           | questionable practice]".
        
             | Chris2048 wrote:
             | Yes, I didn't realize this was a very legally questionable
             | practice, let alone clearly. Can you explain why?
        
               | xhkkffbf wrote:
               | There's a thing called "copyright" and it's kind of like
               | a union, but for people who write or create art. It gives
               | them the right to decide who gets to make a copy. Many of
               | the best sources of news put up a paywall because it's
               | what allows them to pay their reporters. When you make an
               | illicit copy without their permission, you undermine
               | their ability to make a living. In other words, eat.
        
               | Chris2048 wrote:
               | I asked pgwhalen specifically, so chiming in with a
               | smug/condescending reply isn't welcome.
               | 
               | It's also IMHO a misplaced or false criticism, per my
               | other comments in this thread.
        
               | pgwhalen wrote:
               | GP's explanation is better than I would have given and
               | didn't seem smug or condescending to me - from my
               | perspective it was welcome.
        
               | Chris2048 wrote:
               | Your own original had the same problem, so let me play it
               | straight; I don't think there is a legal issue, let alone
               | a clear one.
               | 
               | You don't think phrasing like "There's a thing called
               | 'copyright'", as if I'm not aware of what copyright is,
               | isn't condescending?
               | 
               | Now, either of you relate that concept to a suggestion
               | that HN link _to_ archive.org
        
               | pgwhalen wrote:
               | I'm not interested in having a debate on the legality of
               | it which is why I said "legally questionable." It doesn't
               | strike me as implausible that you wouldn't know what
               | copyright is, if you don't accept the premise that
               | linking to the internet archive for any and all paywalled
               | contemporary content is at least legally questionable.
        
               | Chris2048 wrote:
               | > if you don't accept the premise that ... is at least
               | legally questionable.
               | 
               | The premise was that this is _so_ obvious that my naivety
               | is funny. But no, you don 't want to debate that point -
               | Why would you care to consider otherwise, it's not _you_
               | losing face if correct.
               | 
               | Here's an uninvited counterpoint anyway:
               | 
               | https://blog.archive.org/2024/03/01/fair-use-in-action-
               | at-th...
               | 
               | You'll also notice that the link in this post
               | (https://archive.is/TajtJ) shows a 'log in' button,
               | implying that log-in credentials where not used (or
               | abused) to get/share this snapshot.
        
               | pgwhalen wrote:
               | I don't follow the first paragraph of this comment at
               | all, it just seems vaguely antagonistic. You also seem to
               | be suggesting I'm taking a view on a debate that I am
               | not.
               | 
               | That such a blog post exists at least suggests the legal
               | "question" exists, which again is the only thing I said
               | in the first place.
        
               | fuzzer371 wrote:
               | > You don't think phrasing like "There's a thing called
               | 'copyright'", as if I'm not aware of what copyright is,
               | isn't condescending?
               | 
               | No, not really. You just seem to be trying to pick a
               | fight.
        
           | xhkkffbf wrote:
           | Large downsides? How about the news sources going bankrupt?
           | Someone has to pay for reporters.
        
         | DetectDefect wrote:
         | > Why do I have to complete a CAPTCHA?
         | 
         | > Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you
         | temporary access to the web property.
         | 
         | > What can I do to prevent this in the future?
         | 
         | > If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can
         | run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not
         | infected with malware.
         | 
         | Love how actual captcha spyware has turned to victim-blaming to
         | justify its existence.
        
           | Arainach wrote:
           | If malicious or scraping traffic is coming from your IP, it's
           | not victim blaming.
           | 
           | AI has ruined everything good and free for everyone except a
           | few oligarchs.
        
             | DetectDefect wrote:
             | > If malicious or scraping traffic is coming from your IP,
             | it's not victim blaming
             | 
             | But it is not; my IP is a residential address paid for with
             | a credit card associated to a human who visits like 6
             | websites.
        
               | Arainach wrote:
               | The message is stating that you're seeing a Captcha
               | because suspicious traffic has come from your network. If
               | you're not doing suspicious things, "check that you're
               | not infected with malware" is valid feedback.
        
               | DetectDefect wrote:
               | No, the message is stating that because I don't allow
               | Javascript to fingerprint and commodify my browser. The
               | euphemized nonsense about malware is just an insult to
               | reason at this point.
        
               | mikestew wrote:
               | No, it's because Cloudflare and archive.ph have some
               | pissing content going. I forget the details, but it has
               | nothing to do with malware on anyone's machine. Somewhere
               | on HN someone has given a better explanation, but I'm not
               | spelunking for it.
        
           | promiseofbeans wrote:
           | The vast majority of website-gate captchas are served by
           | cloudflare these days. You can use the privacy pass [0]
           | browser extension to skip them. Privacy passes are an open
           | standard [1], so you can re-implement it yourself if you
           | don't trust that extension.
           | 
           | [0]: https://developers.cloudflare.com/waf/tools/privacy-
           | pass/ [1]: RFC 9576 https://www.rfc-
           | editor.org/rfc/rfc9576.html, RFC 9577 https://www.rfc-
           | editor.org/rfc/rfc9577.html, RFC 9578 https://www.rfc-
           | editor.org/rfc/rfc9578.html
        
           | staindk wrote:
           | 95% of the time I click the tick box and wiggle my mouse and
           | it lets me through without doing a captcha.
           | 
           | I believe they check your mouse for human-like movement as an
           | additional factor. Could be wrong but I haven't been bothered
           | by many captchas in the last couple years.
        
       | analog31 wrote:
       | I have my grab list. People first, then musical instruments.
        
         | jeffrallen wrote:
         | I'm gonna throw the NAS with the family backups out the back
         | window while running upstairs to get my son.
         | 
         | But yeah, with a bit of planning you can turn it into a yes-and
         | situation.
         | 
         | Also: 48 hours. Can you provide for yourself and your neighbor
         | for 48 hours without any help from the authorities? Does the
         | Kanban card for pasta and tomato sauce always leave 10000
         | calories in the pantry? Got firewood, matches, and know where
         | the nearest spring is? (This is easier in a culture where we
         | still have running fountains with dates like 1780 on them.)
        
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       (page generated 2026-01-18 23:01 UTC)