#it does have a semi controlled vocabulary for metadata | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

voltrons · 3 days ago

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i can’t think about libraries very long without disappearing mysteriously into the fog but it is very funny to me when people say that ao3 is an archive. that certainly is a word in its title but by definition it is absolutely not an archive. that’s not how archives work at all. it’s so charming

#just because something is archived somewhere does not mean that place is an archive #and the act of archiving is more than simply hosting or housing an object #there are selection and classification standards #and treatment procedures #it does have a semi controlled vocabulary for metadata #those tag wranglers really have their work cut out for them #but freeform tagging introduces a lot of nuance #just trust me on this #it’s the closest thing to an archive that we’re going to get #but there are actual physical media fanwork archives out there!!!#both of these things serve two very different purposes though #i’d say ao3 functions more like uhhhh #public library if patrons did things byob style #and that was my ten minutes of thinking about the institution of library science this week #i’ll catch yall next time #flynn.txt

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