question for moderator/interactive service manager?

I know after a period of time that threads are archived. I was wondering what will happen to these threads in years to come, will they be erased or stored electronically? It appears to me that this site contains personal stories which so accurately portray the way in which breast cancer is treated in the 21st century.
I am guessing that future generations will, with knowledge, one day look back on this period in history as ‘barbaric’ in the way present society looks back to amputations without anaesthetic. Wearing my ‘historian hat’ it would be criminal if all these ‘stories’ were erased.
Not sure if I’m using the right forum but would be interested to know what others thought.
Trish

Yes Trish absolutely agree with you.

I think there are many fascinating PhD theses embedded in these forums!

And the historical interest of the stories is not just about the ‘barbaric’ treatments but about the perceptions which people with breast cancer hold about their disease and how they are constructed. Wouldn’t it be fasinating for a historian in 2050 to look back on the debates about diet and ‘being positive’ in the light of research yet to be imagined?

Jane

Good morning Moderator/ interactive service manager,

I was hoping by now to have your reply to my question above. If you don’t know the answer or need more time to find out can you let me know?
From an historical point of reference I would like to know what happens to past and indeed present threads. Will they be eventually delated or stored for future generations to access?
Thanks
Trish

Hi Trish

I’m sorry we haven’t replied sooner, this is something we are looking into at the moment and will get back to you as soon as possible.

Kind regards
Katie

Thanks for reply Katie, will look forward to what you have to say.
Also, Jane thanks for your reply, was beginning to think I was in a minority of one
Trish

Hi Trish, I think you are absolutely right to hope these digital records will not be destroyed and I look forward to seeing the eventual response. The conflicting advice in books currently available will be mind-boggling to future generations, and I have no doubt that the hopes and fears, knowledge and triumphs, agonies and relief apparent across these forums would still be invaluable generations down the line - not only with the amused astonishment that we read of medical procedures in the Dark Ages, or even during our own childhood!

Lyn

Hi Trish and all

Just to let you know we do store the posts to the forums and will continue to do so.

Best wishes

Ann

Thanks Ann,
that’s good to know.
It’s been fascinating reading through all the arhived current issues topics to see how things have changed in the last 2years.
I noticed the archive section went back to Dec 2006 so another question, is that when this site was launched or are there posts going further back that are not acessible on-line. Just curious.
Trish

Hi Trish

Sorry for the delay in replying (I’ve been away). When we relaunched the site a couple of years ago we were unable to transfer old posts across because of incompatible technologies. We did however keep the posts in a text file so they haven’t been lost.

Ann

Thanks for reply Ann. Its good to know future historians will have access to such a wealth of current knowledge. Times like this I wish I was immortal. Imagine being a fly on the wall in 100 years time and listening to such discussions. Dream on, time to get back to reality and the here and now.
Trish