Appendix D: Teaching Resources

Overview

This appendix provides practical resources for instructors teaching Archaeobytology at any level. Includes:

1. Discussion prompts and facilitation guides

2. Assignment templates with rubrics

3. Lab exercises and technical tutorials

4. Datasets and case study materials

5. Assessment strategies

6. Guest speaker suggestions

7. Field trip and site visit ideas

1. Discussion Prompts by Topic

On Platform Death and Digital Mortality

Warm-Up Questions (5-10 minutes):

• What's a platform or service you used that no longer exists? How did you feel when it shut down?

• Do you still have access to content you created on dead platforms? Why or why not?

• What digital artifacts from your life do you think will survive 50 years? Which won't?

Deep Discussion (30-45 minutes):

• Is platform death inevitable, or can we design platforms that last centuries?

• Who should be responsible for preserving digital culture—individuals, corporations, governments, or volunteers?

• When GeoCities died, was it murder or natural death? What's the difference?

Facilitation Tips:

• Start with personal stories (everyone has lost something)

• Move from individual to systemic (why does this keep happening?)

• End with agency (what can we do about it?)

On The Three Pillars and Digital Sovereignty

Scenario-Based Discussion:

Present this scenario:

"You're designing a social network for activists in authoritarian countries. They need to organize protests, share information, and protect their identities. How do you embody the Three Pillars (Declaration, Connection, Ground) while keeping users safe?"

Discussion Questions:

• What trade-offs exist between sovereignty and safety?

• Can you have full Declaration (persistent identity) if anonymity is needed?

• How do you design Connection (direct communication) that resists surveillance?

• What does Ground (owned infrastructure) mean when users can't safely self-host?

Facilitation Tips:

• Break into small groups (3-4 students) for 15 minutes

• Have each group present their design

• Compare approaches—no single right answer

• Highlight tensions: sovereignty vs. usability, privacy vs. accountability

On Triage Ethics

Dilemma-Based Discussion:

Present these scenarios and have students vote/debate:

Scenario 1: The Deleted Confession

A celebrity posts a racist tweet, then deletes it 10 minutes later. You have a screenshot. Should you archive it?

Scenario 2: The Teen's Blog

A 14-year-old wrote a blog in 2008 documenting coming out as gay. The blog is abandoned but still online. The person is now 30 and doesn't know it exists. Should you archive it?

Scenario 3: The Hate Forum

A white supremacist forum announces shutdown. It contains evidence of radicalization pathways that researchers could study. Should you archive it?

Discussion Framework:

1. Initial reactions (gut feelings)

2. Apply Custodial Filter (significance, fragility, feasibility, redundancy, ethics)

3. Compare reasoning (why do people disagree?)

4. Discuss: Can triage be "objective," or is it always value-laden?

Facilitation Tips:

• Don't let discussion get abstract—keep returning to concrete harms/benefits

• Acknowledge discomfort (these dilemmas are designed to be hard)

• No "gotcha" answers—focus on reasoning quality, not "correct" conclusions

2. Assignment Templates

Assignment 1: Platform Autopsy (Undergraduate)

Learning Objectives:

• Apply Archaeobyte Taxonomy to real platforms

• Analyze causes of platform death

• Evaluate preservation efforts

Assignment:

Choose a dead platform (GeoCities, Vine, Google+, MySpace, etc.). Write a 2,000-word "autopsy" analyzing:

1. Life History (500 words): When launched? Peak usage? Decline? Shutdown?

2. Cause of Death (500 words): Why did it die? (Financial failure, acquisition, competition, policy changes?)

3. Preservation Status (500 words): What was saved? By whom? What was lost?

4. Taxonomic Analysis (500 words): What state are artifacts in now? (Archaeobyte, Umbrabyte, Petribyte?) What should be done to improve preservation?

Rubric (100 points):

• Historical accuracy (20 pts): Facts correct, timeline clear

• Analysis depth (30 pts): Goes beyond surface description, identifies systemic causes

• Taxonomy application (25 pts): Correctly applies Archaeobyte Taxonomy

• Recommendations (15 pts): Actionable suggestions for preservation

• Writing quality (10 pts): Clear, organized, properly cited

Resources to Provide:

• List of 20 dead platforms students can choose from

• Links to Internet Archive, Wikipedia, tech press coverage

• Template outline

Assignment 2: Triage Simulation (Graduate)

Learning Objectives:

• Apply Custodial Filter to triage decisions

• Navigate ethical dilemmas

• Defend preservation choices

Assignment:

Scenario: You have 72 hours to archive a dying platform before shutdown. You have 1TB of storage and 5 volunteers. The platform has:

• 100,000 user accounts

• 10 million posts (text, images, videos)

• 500 communities

• Mix of public and private content

Task: Write a 3,500-4,500 word triage plan including:

1. Assessment (750 words): Platform architecture, data types, scale, access patterns, technical barriers

2. Triage Matrix (1,000 words): Score 5-8 content types using Custodial Filter (significance, fragility, feasibility, redundancy, ethics). Create table with justifications.

3. Action Plan (1,000 words): What you'll save, in what order, using what methods. Include timeline.

4. Ethical Justification (750 words): Defend your choices. What did you leave behind? Why? What ethical dilemmas arose?

Rubric (100 points):

• Custodial Filter application (30 pts): Systematic, well-justified scoring

• Technical feasibility (20 pts): Plan is realistic given constraints

• Ethical reasoning (25 pts): Acknowledges dilemmas, defends choices thoughtfully

• Action plan (15 pts): Concrete, detailed, executable

• Writing quality (10 pts)

Variations:

• Change constraints (24 hours instead of 72, 100GB instead of 1TB)

• Add complications (DMCA threats, server instability, volunteer dropout)

• Different platform types (social network vs. forum vs. file-sharing)

Assignment 3: Build a Sovereign Alternative (Capstone)

Learning Objectives:

• Design systems embodying Three Pillars

• Integrate Archive and Anvil practices

• Propose actionable implementation

Assignment:

Choose a current platform (Twitter, Instagram, Discord, etc.). Design a sovereign alternative that embodies the Three Pillars.

Deliverables:

1. Written Design Document (6,000-8,000 words):

   • Problem analysis (why is current platform inadequate?)

   • System design (architecture, technologies, features)

   • Three Pillars embodiment (how Declaration, Connection, Ground are achieved)

   • Governance model (who decides? how are disputes resolved?)

   • Business model (how is it sustained?)

   • Adoption strategy (how do you get users to switch?)

   • Implementation roadmap (Years 1-2, 3-5, 6-10)

2. Presentation (15 minutes + 10 min Q&A):

   • Slide deck (10-15 slides)

   • Live demo or mockup (if applicable)

3. Prototype or Artifact (choose one):

   • Technical MVP (working proof-of-concept)

   • Policy brief (model legislation)

   • Campaign plan (movement strategy)

Rubric (100 points):

• Problem diagnosis (10 pts)

• System design (25 pts): Technical feasibility, Three Pillars integrity

• Governance/business model (15 pts): Sustainability, resistance to capture

• Adoption strategy (15 pts): Realistic path to users

• Integration (15 pts): Synthesizes Archive + Anvil, preservation + creation

• Presentation (10 pts)

• Prototype/artifact (10 pts)

3. Lab Exercises

Lab 1: Your First Web Scrape (2 hours)

Goal: Learn basic web scraping with wget

Prerequisites: Command line familiarity (or teach basics first)

Exercise:

1. Setup (15 min):

   • Install wget (or use online terminal)

   • Choose a simple static website (instructor provides list)

2. Basic Scrape (30 min):

   wget --recursive --level=2 --wait=1 --random-wait [URL]
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
   
                       
                       
   
                       
                       
                       

   • Explain each flag

   • Students scrape their chosen site

3. Analysis (30 min):

   • Examine downloaded files

   • What was captured? What was missed?

   • How big is the archive?

   • Can you browse it offline?

4. Ethics Discussion (30 min):

   • Was this ethical? (public site, robots.txt, rate limiting)

   • When is scraping okay vs. problematic?

   • What if site owner didn't consent?

5. Advanced Challenge (15 min, optional):

   • Scrape with custom user-agent

   • Exclude certain file types

   • Mirror with converted links

Instructor Notes:

• Have backup sites ready (students' choices might be down)

• Monitor for overly aggressive scraping (teach courtesy)

• Emphasize robots.txt respect

Lab 2: Metadata Extraction (2 hours)

Goal: Extract and analyze metadata from archived content

Tools: ExifTool, Python (or use GUI tools for less technical students)

Exercise:

1. Download Sample Dataset (10 min):

   • Instructor provides ZIP of 50 images from GeoCities archive

   • Students extract locally

2. Extract Metadata (30 min):

   xxxxxxxxxx
                       
                       
   
                       
   
                       
   
                           
   
                               
   
                               
   
                               
   exiftool -csv *.jpg > metadata.csv
                           
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
   
                       
                       
   
                       
                       
                       

   • Open in spreadsheet

   • What information is embedded? (dates, camera models, GPS, software)

3. Analysis (45 min):

   • When were these images created?

   • What tools were used?

   • Can you infer anything about creators?

   • What's missing? (names, context, meaning)

4. Curation Exercise (30 min):

   • Create a simple database (Google Sheets or Airtable)

   • Add columns: Title, Creator (unknown), Date, Description, Tags

   • Fill in what you can infer

   • Identify what needs research

5. Reflection (15 min):

   • How does metadata help/hurt preservation?

   • Privacy concerns? (GPS coordinates, personal info)

   • How do you fill gaps when metadata is missing?

Lab 3: Emulation Challenge (2 hours)

Goal: Run obsolete software/media using emulation

Tools: Flashpoint (Flash games), DOSBox (old PC games), or Internet Archive's emulation

Exercise:

1. Choose Platform (15 min):

   • Flash game, DOS game, or old Mac software

   • Instructor provides curated list

2. Set Up Emulator (30 min):

   • Install/configure emulator

   • Load software

   • Get it running

3. Experience (30 min):

   • Play the game / use the software

   • Take notes on experience

   • Screenshot interesting moments

4. Technical Analysis (30 min):

   • What had to be emulated? (hardware, OS, libraries)

   • What works perfectly? What's broken?

   • Is this "authentic" to original experience?

5. Preservation Discussion (15 min):

   • How do you preserve the emulator itself?

   • What if emulator becomes obsolete?

   • Is emulation always the right approach?

Advanced Challenge:

• Detailed rubrics for each assignment available in the comprehensive Instructor's Guide

• Adapt to your institution's learning outcomes

4. Datasets and Case Study Materials

Ready-to-Use Datasets

1. GeoCities Sample (50MB)

• 100 GeoCities homepages (HTML, images, GIFs)

• Representative of different "neighborhoods"

• Cleared for educational use

• Use for: Curation exercises, metadata practice, web archaeology

2. Vine Archive Sample (100 videos, 2GB)

• Curated selection from Internet Archive

• Mix of viral hits and obscure creators

• Includes metadata (usernames, dates, loop counts)

• Use for: Taxonomy classification, significance assessment

3. Deleted Tweet Database (CSV, 5MB)

• 1,000 deleted tweets from public figures (2015-2023)

• Includes: original text, timestamp, reason deleted (if known), archival status

• Use for: Ethics discussions, triage simulations

4. Platform Death Timeline (Spreadsheet)

• 200+ platform shutdowns (1995-2025)

• Fields: Name, launch date, shutdown date, reason, preservation status

Use for: Pattern analysis, historical research

5. Forum Archive Sample (SQL dump, 50MB)

• Small phpBB forum (10 years of posts)

• Anonymized usernames

• Use for: Database exploration, community analysis

Instructor Note: Email the course administrator for access links.

Case Study Packets

Each packet includes:

GeoCities Rescue (2009)

• Timeline of shutdown announcement → rescue → archiving

• Archive Team IRC logs (excerpts)

• Technical documentation of scraping methods

• Statistics (sites saved, data volume)

• Reflections from participants

• Teaching Uses: Crisis triage, volunteer coordination, technical methods

Tumblr NSFW Purge (2018)

• Company announcement and justification

• Community response (protests, exodus)

• What was deleted vs. saved

• Ethical debates among archivists

• Teaching Uses: Content moderation ethics, LGBTQ+ preservation, consent

Mastodon's Growing Pains (2016-2024)