| dc.description.abstract | For just above a couple of decades, warnings of a looming digital dark age have been issued. That a black hole will appear in our current digital history, that it will delete our memory, removing future generation’s opportunity to learn about our society. In this paper the author attempts to find and analyze instances where the term “digital black hole” has been used in papers and articles in the context of long-term preservation of digital objects. In essence the term “digital black hole” has most commonly been used as a colloquial term for something becoming irretrievably lost in an abyss. Following the findings the author suggests a possible definition for digital black holes as a metaphor, useful to ascribe challenges of digital preservation; technical, economic, policy, and legal. Finally follows a basic introduction to what makes digital objects difficult to preserve, with a focus on the technical aspect. | |