What Urban threads would you like to see highlighted in the British Library Web Archive?

Hello everyone

I’ve been a member of U75 for quite a while and I have gained a lot from the community and see it as an important resource

In my professional capacity I'm a Social Sciences curator at the British Library. At the library we run the UK web archive where we archive and preserve important cultural sites and other information http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/

Urban75 is in the archive, but the boards look like this

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20110417030711/http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/forum.php

I think that highlighting postings and threads on Urban could add a real life perspective to contemporary historical events and could also have the potential to be an oral history collection for future generations to use for academic study and family history

I have an idea for the Urban community to initially choose some threads related to the themes we have set up as special collections so that we can place them and archive them in those collections to capture posters’ perspectives around these themes.

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/collection

As a really quick and simple example we could put this thread

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threa...ts-updates-and-news-only-no-discussion.50349/

in this collection

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/collection/100757/page/1

With this in mind, I’m asking for the urban community to curate the best and most relevant content (initially related to these collections) to add to our histories.

This may seem like I’m asking you to do my job for me, but I want to explore ideas of how to best capture now and the last decade and would like as much input as possible from contributors. In previous generations we would have to capture the stories and perspectives of people through interviews, letters and books, but we are all adding to this record everyday.

Urban is only one board and although it has many different perspectives if this works then I will look to do similar projects with other communities.

There is also a lot of work going on about how we visualize this archive in space and time as the flat text model we have at the moment isn’t a great way to research large amounts of data.

I have set up this login for this project as I want to keep a bit of separation between my personal and professional life. Quite a few of you will be able to easily guess who I am, but please be discrete.

I'm only really at the ideas/concepts stage with this, it may not even work, so any contributions, suggestions or questions on this are most welcome

I’ve cleared this with Editor

Boat Happy!

Dog Wanker

This thread.

Nazi lobster

I thought this might happen

discreet.

though.

Yeah I'm not at the literary end of things at the library

Inventing an Urban75 tube line.

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/world-trade-centre.20/

Porn versions of classic novels.

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/porn-versions-of-classic-novels.245904/

Being serious for a moment, this is a really good suggestion.

Why the Lib Dems are shit

i was just coming here to post that.

The thread title might need to be presented in a different way but it'd fit well in here:

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/collection/58195984/page/1

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/9-11-media-happenings.116208/

aka "Jazzz Vs The Architect" aka "Internet pwnage, a step by step guide"

The 11/9 offline event where Johnny went apeshit.

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/the-grand-u75-armchair-tricycle-relay-tour.139621/

that thread about unpaid interns on film productions? i seem to remember that being a good combo of useful info and brutal pwnage....

Any of methlab's encyclopaedic drug threads.

Ooooh, good choice

A flounce thread would have to be included.

shac UK. if you can ressurect it.

The Egyptian Uprising thread.

This one?

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/anyone-need-a-job-editor-beware.213611/

I enjoyed that thread

dp

I'd forgotten just how much of a genius Longdog was in that thread

In general I think we need a special collection on Arab Spring and Occupy. 'Dissent 2011' or something

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/coke-problem.4323/

Oh yes, yes....

How many threads are meant to go in there? Should we be making a definitive list of thread types and try to mainly stick to one or two of each type as 'examples'? Or just have threads that everyone liked?

Would this then include the London/UK Riots etc as well? Or are you lot down at the BL sticking with the party line on this one? ('feral underclass letting off steam in a long hot summer')