Before November 8th a whole host of celebrities vowed to leave the United States if Trump won the presidency (see “These Are The Celebrities Who Vowed To Leave America If Trump Wins“). As far as we know, George Lopez is the only one to subsequently confirm that he will actually be leaving the country despite numerous offers of free private planes and chefs to Lena Dunham to follow through on her pledge…unfortunately she still hasn’t taken the bait.
That said, it looks as though Trump’s victory has claimed one other defector: The Wayback Machine. The webpage archiving site has announced that after waking up on November 9th “to a new administration promising radical change” they have decided to move their operations to Canada.
So this year, we have set a new goal: to create a copy of Internet Archive’s digital collections in another country. We are building the Internet Archive of Canada because, to quote our friends at LOCKSS, “lots of copies keep stuff safe.” This project will cost millions. So this is the one time of the year I will ask you: please make a tax-deductible donation to help make sure the Internet Archive lasts forever.
On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change.
For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions.
It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away; indeed it looks like it will increase.
Of course, the announcement also came with a plea for donations:
You may not know this, but your support for the Internet Archive makes more than 3 million e-books available for free to millions of Open Library patrons around the world.
Your support has fueled the work of journalists who used our Political TV Ad Archive in their fact-checking of candidates’ claims.
It keeps the Wayback Machine going, saving 300 million Web pages each week, so no one will ever be able to change the past just because there is no digital record of it. The Web needs a memory, the ability to look back.
If you find our work has been useful to you, please take a minute to donate whatever you can afford today. Help ensure the Internet Archive lasts forever. I promise you—It will be money well spent.
But don’t worry, we’re sure this isn’t just another Jill Steinesque fundraising scam to take advantage of disaffected Hillary supporters who will give money to almost anyone who opposes Trump….so go ahead and donate away young snowflakes.
via http://ift.tt/2gTvWae Tyler Durden