Diary Written On Floorboards

[ridiculopathy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-44265475

 

Nothing to do with fountain pens...or ink...or fountain pen-friendly surfaces... but I found this BBC story on a diary written on floorboards by a carpenter in France from 1880-1881 to be fascinating. In my time here on FPN, I've read many a topic on peoples' opinions on keeping their journals/diaries for posterity. I'm curious to know whether stories like these affect your views or if it's just a different time now that it's easier for more people to document everything on the Internet, which is Forever.

[Studio97]

Just as I know that hand written journals are ultimately not permanent, I don't believe the internet cloud-data storage is forever. Everything can fail. Even

this post is saved to a server somewhere, but if I don't have a device with software and a connection it is lost. Someone might be able to get to your data journal but you cannot: it's as good as lost.

A digital journal might reflect something about the writer from the subject and slant of the writer, but it won't have the coffee stain on page 35 from writing at three in the morning or the rapid scrawl present in an emotional moment. The digital version won't show the handwriting when my arthritis really kicked in.

I see a big difference between inheriting grandpa's pdf file (if that's even possible) as opposed to inheriting a few work notebooks that were kept by my dad and grandfather in their own hand.

I will try to protect my handwritten journals as best I can and avoid a web based journal that can be hacked by a 12 year old with a little knowledge.

Before the internet and on-line music it reminds me of when my daughter was little she discovered it was fun to feed my tapedeck applesauce every time the little door opened. (So the data server, i.e.my tape deck was a loss).

I think I saw a cartoon where the family cat walked across the keyboard and a paw hit the delete key and enter.

Edited June 11, 2018 by Studio97

[Studio97]

The story about the carpenter's diary is fascinating. Thanks for posting it.

[inkstainedruth]

Fascinating! Thanks for posting the link.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Freddy]

Thank you.

 

Fred

Le Plancher De Joachim

Jacques-Olivier Boudon,

Professor of Contemporary History,

Sorbonne University

[amberleadavis]

How that is awesome.