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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 5h

NEWLY RESTORED AT @archive.org: This charming 1967 #filmstrip takes a look at how the English language has changed over time, and features great mid-century illustrations.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 17h

I was recognized by @archive.org for my work preserving filmstrips, an early educational/industrial multimedia format that's been completely ignored by fully-funded archivists and peservations and featured in 2024's Vanishing Culture Report:

blog.archive.org/2024/10/30/v...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 19h

Scanned and uploaded to @archive.org: Part of a 1974 series on cities, this final #filmstrp discusses how cities prepare for the future. Part of the #SethKoehlerCollection.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 20h

Look at this awesome t-shirt my father in law found buried in his closet. He was writing SQL in his sleep before any of these startup bros were even born.

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 1d

Scanned and uploaded to @archive.org: Part of a 1974 unit on cities, in this #filmstrip the viewer learns about the municipal and political groups that decide how a city should be run . Part of the #SethKoehlerCollection.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Reposted by Uncommon Ephemera

No Context Filmstrips @strippedcontext.bsky.social · 1d

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 1d

Scanned and uploaded to @archive.org: Part of a social studies unit on cities, this 1974 #filmstrip teaches the viewer about the importance of transportation. Part of the #SethKoehlerCollection.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 2d

Scanned and uploaded to @archive.org: Part of a 1974 social studies unit on cities, this #filmstrip teaches the viewer how a city gets food and water. Part of the #SethKoehlerCollection.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 2d

LIVE ALL DAY: Saving nearly-lost media on #filmstrip for safe keeping at @archive.org. Come watch literal saving of media and support my fight to keep saving these forgotten films.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/ms9zrp6...
Or Twitch: twitch.tv/uncommonephe...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 2d

I propose a new test for LLMs. I don’t want to hear about math proofs or cancer cures: Can it write a simple plug-in for @nextcloud.bsky.social?

So far it’s a giant NO across the board: Grok, Grok Code Fast 1, GPT-5, GPT-5 Codex, and Sonnet 4.5 all fail. Nextcloud: harder to solve than cancer.

Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 2d

Scanned and uploaded to @archive.org: Part of a 1974 social studies unit on cities, this #filmstrip outlines the history of Chicago and some of the reasons it succeeded. Part of the #SethKoehlerCollection.

archive.org/details/unco...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 3d

LIVE ALL DAY: Saving rare #filmstrips and their soundtracks for restoration and upload to @archive.org.

Watch on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/ms9zrp6...
or Twitch: twitch.tv/uncommonephe...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 3d

Of all the things I never thought I'd find on Is This Anything, it's a lighthearted PBS commercial with a sense of humor.

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 3d

LIVE NOW: Searching #VHS tapes for endangered and #lostmedia we can (hopefully) upload to @archive.org. IS THIS ANYTHING? is live on Twitch.

twitch.tv/uncommonephe...

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 4d

LIVE TONIGHT 7PM EDT: What's on all these #VHS tapes? Commercials? Rare stuff? Endangered or #lostmedia we should upload to @archive.org? There's only one way to find out. IS THIS ANYTHING? is live tonight on Twitch.

twitch.tv/uncommonephe...

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Reposted by Uncommon Ephemera

No Context Filmstrips @strippedcontext.bsky.social · 5d

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Reposted by Uncommon Ephemera

Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

I’ve been doing a show called IS THIS ANYTHING? for three years now, where we look through #VHS tapes from yard sales, estate sales, & generous donors. If we find something needing saving, I upload it to @archive.org. 1/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

... I need to tell you about what's going on, and have you tell me what the rules are for safeguarding these cultural artifacts.

Preservationists & #lostmedia fans, have you had similar challenges? What's your experience with @archive.org on DMCA takedowns? 15/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

So, @brewster.kahle.org, your upstanding vision powers this work. Partner with me to sustain it: Spell out the DMCA bounds and limits and my options in plain English. I'm ready to play by the rules, whatever you say they are. But I need to have the conversation with you... 14/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

This hints at an uneven playing field at @archive.org: leeway for friends, limbo for the rest of us. That's no way to run an organization as critical to cultural history as the Archive. 13/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

But a few months ago, after misunderstanding something on our Discord, he performatively cut ties, slinging #ableist slurs at me and others as he left. Now I can't get any other employee to clarify their DMCA policy. Messages to @brewster.kahle.org go unanswered. 12/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

So what's the problem? An @archive.org employee once vouched for us when I asked about this. "You don't have to worry about DMCA," he said, "because you know me. If IA disables your account, I'll make a new one and move all your items over." 11/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

Worse, my unique work saving filmstrips, being the sole keeper of a vanishing format, is at risk of disappearing if my account is disabled. I desire guidelines, not guesswork; rules I can follow to keep myself and the media safe. 10/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

This weighs heavily on me. If I can’t safely upload things, there’s no point in doing “Is This Anything?” We're not just a show; we're a lifeline, saving family memories, sustaining niche history. With the ambiguousness of DMCA policies, how could we feel safe saving media? 9/15

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Uncommon Ephemera @uncommonephemera.org · 6d

I have requested the Archive temporarily take down the *entire* collection, because it’s not clear what the consequences are of leaving it up. Now many terabytes of video are hogging the Archive’s disks, unavailable to their visitors. 8/15

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