User:Jscott/Sorry That I am All Up In Your Shit

Here I Am, All Up In Your Shit

Why Hello There. I Am Sorry I Am All Up In Your Shit.

You've on this page because either I or someone who knows me sent you here.

And the reason you are here is because out of nowhere, this Jason Scott toolbag came out of the peanut gallery and has completely gotten all up in your shit.

Now, let's be clear - I am not specifically sorry I am all up in your shit - I am sorry that you have caused me to get all up in your shit. No actual apologies for my behavior are coming.

It's very likely I got up in your shit over something related to: preservation of user data, websites shutting down, services and APIs going away, or some manner of digital history being at risk or severely curtailed. You then fall into one of the following groups of people:

• You are a dashing White Knight who has gotten into this whole preservation and archiving and digital history debate shizzle but you have no direct skin in this. You don't even have data on the service involved, probably because you're somewhat boring and you don't generate much content that can leave your place of work freely. You likely don't even quite understand what's going on. Take this as an invitation to go find another conversation to stick your face into. You're wasting my time (a little) and you're definitely wasting your time (a lot).

• You're some level of Entrepreneur who snorts Y Combinator for breakfast and runs some website that does a thing, a thing that may eventually make money once your synergies enable cross-information viral disruption. You see me railing about a site shutting down or demanding a brand-new company provide export functions, and you feel the need to "educate" me on How Things Work in the startup space. In the same way a shark riding a bear with knives duct-taped to it says "Do Not Touch. Avoid", I'm telling you, just keep moving on with your horseshit life and we'll chit-chat once you realize you're killing your soul.

• You're working at a company that is shutting down services I'm screaming about shutting down. You are doing your company no favors trying to give me insight as to why your company's choice to delete so much user data is a brilliant move, one that goes over my head. I promise you, every moment you spend engaging me in "debate" instead of working within your company walls to help preserve data and maintain user data, is a crime I will pull out of your life, second by second.

• You're a Reasonable Person who Admires The Work Jason Does But Feels He's Gone a Little Too Far On This Specific Point. Feel free to bring this perspective and debate, but also understand when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Wish me well and hope I veer a little bit in the direction of sanity as you say it, but otherwise, say it and move on - it'll get dark quickly.

As someone involved with Archive Team, I'm happy to be part of a group of people who are saving millions of accounts, all day, every day.

We're asking the tough questions.

We're demanding the true answers.

And when sloth and avarice and incompetence and ignorance raise in the issues of user data, when people buy into the "oh, it's just data" or "oh, look, they didn't have to pay for it", and you feel that maybe Archive Team or Jason Scott require a little special brand of the lessons of life that you're gearing up to give, unsolicited... well, just don't do it.

Just say no.

Or I will get right up into your shit about it.

And I do. Not. Stop.

Have a fantastic fucking day.

Further Reading

• ARCHIVE TEAM: A Distributed Preservation of Service Attack (Video)
• Datapocalypso! (Essay)