I just ran across an interesting essay by Simson Garfinkel on “The Myth of Doomed Data.” It’s not the whole story, of course, but it is a powerful rejoinder to those who insist that the digital future will simply erase the digital past, over and over.

Here’s a taste:

Some argue that it’s impossible to look into the future and determine which of today’s formats will survive and which will go the way of the VP 415. Poppycock! As a society we have a very good understanding of what will make one file format endure while another one is likely to perish. The key to survival is openness and documentation.