On Jun 29, 2021, at 4:19 PM, Wiedeman, Gregory <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> The Mailbag Project<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archives.albany.edu/mailbag/spec/&source=gmail-imap&ust=1625602765000000&usg=AOvVaw2XuTK9skA2mBSUkaJeJa5d> is excited to announce the draft release of the Mailbag Specification 0.1<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X7pOHxxzZl6PyMAJWd7bIR11rE4FlKty3J7oI6ghAKo/edit&source=gmail-imap&ust=1625602765000000&usg=AOvVaw0R_H9L77B_4c-3G3XTWWnt> with an open call for comments!...
> 
> --
> Gregory Wiedeman
> University Archivist
> M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
> University at Albany, SUNY
> [log in to unmask]
> 518-437-3936


On a similar but different note, I wonder how an email archiving/preservation system would need to be designed given the fact that URLs distributed via email are increasingly obfuscated and filtered through a third party, like above. If those third parties go away, then the URLS break, or at the very least need to be reverse engineered. I see this obfuscation/filtering more and more, and while the Internet is not going to come to an end as we know it, such services make it increasingly difficult and less private to actually acquire content. For example, imagine I request one of these filtered URLs. Google will not only count and tabulate how many times the URL has been accessed, but what type of browser is used, what time of day it was accessed, what day it was accessed, from what IP address, (and therefore geo-located location). If I have a Google account, and if I'm signed in, then Google will also count & tabulate the name of the person access the URL, what type of person the name represents, etc. They don't need to know that, if you ask me. Security is a two-edged sword. More and more, the Internet is employed as a giant system for advertising, marketing, and promotion. Is this what we really want? Is the expense worth the convenience? 

That said, email archives embody significant historical record, and I'm thrilled folks are looking into email preservation systems. Kudos. Sincerely.

--
Eric Morgan