Comments by "LancesArmorStriking" (@LancesArmorStriking) on "How Animal Hides Are Made Into Parchment At The Last Workshop In The US | Still Standing" video.

@croesuslydias6488 They're not useless. They are among the most durable material in the world when it comes to writing. Properly bound, information written on parchment can survive for over 1,000 years. That is especially useful with documents whose contents cannot be lost— not mass-produced,if they're of a sensitive nature. Digital is extremely versatile, yet fragile. Even normal camera prints last many times longer than the average SSD, and that's important for things like family photos. Plenty of people don't know that they should transfer their photos into a new storage device every several years. God forbid it gets damaged. There is tremendous value in things that are older. Losing it forever just closes another door on us.
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@yonneye2427 So, your answer to the inherently short lifespan of digital media and the comparatively durable physical storage is a version of "well that's trivial anyway"? Do you seriously see family photos as some sort of liability? I'm aware not everyone's sentimental, but to not hold any curiosity beyond the 2 generations that are likely alive in your family? I'm actually surprised. I've never seen anyone try to boil down an inherently emotionally-inspired item to pure function. Not to mention, 100 years is still far longer than the average lifespan of an SSD. You'd still, as an individual holding onto photos of just you, once every 10 years at the very minimum.
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@yonneye2427 ...As opposed to just processing your photos onto film, and buying a scrapbook with sleeves? I'm aware of the benefits of digital storage (infinitely reproduceable with no loss of quality, huge storage space, re-organizability, etc) but the medium comes with pitfalls. SSDs can be infected with a virus and held for ransom- sometimes by a person no longer with access to his own code. A physical photo album can't be corrupted, hacked, or remotely accessed. Benefits and drawbacks to both.
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@yonneye2427 I'm aware. But (as I'm sure you know, being so supportive of tech solutions to old problems), always keep a backup. Physical media have an air gap that can't be hacked into. And you're trusting the company storing your data to keep it safe. When very, very few things in the digital world are ever secure. End-to-end encryption is about as good as you'll get, but most services don't offer that, at least not for average people.
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