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Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

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Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#71

Post by edmundsauto »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #45
imhoguy wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> how do people store data for 100+ years? Print it.

On acid-free paper.

I disagree - digital is the only route. Printouts will get lost, bent, fires, floods, and lost.

The broader idea that I find interesting however is how to preserve digital content for > 100 years. It's okay if other people don't care about that - I do, and I think it's an interesting set of problem constraints, and was just wondering if anyone else has thought about it.

It's difficult to suggest an actual use case for blockchain, and I am far from an expert, but I think this could be an interesting innovative options for actually using distributed databases to control assets and make collective decisions in a decentralized fashion.

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#72

Post by soperj »

NateEag wrote: post #56
ROTMetro wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't do this. I somehow ended up with all the pictures of family going back to the 1800s. I have 5 suitcases full that I now have to scan. Find the best representative photos, and upload them to Geni.com, Ancestry.com, MyHerritage.com, 23andme, etc. They are bound to survive from one of those sources.

That's why you pick the best five from each year and print them in a small acid-free paper book. You keep the gigantic digital repository as long as feasible (I burn to M-Discs), but for accessibility and long-term, pick your favorites in a way we have good reason to think can last for hundreds of years.

> print them in a small acid-free paper book

any good recommendations for printers?

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#73

Post by NateEag »

soperj wrote: post #72
NateEag wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why you pick the best five from each year and print them in a small acid-free paper book. You keep the gigantic digital repository as long as feasible (I burn to M-Discs), but for accessibility and long-term, pick your favorites in a way we have good reason to think can last for hundreds of years.

> print them in a small acid-free paper book any good recommendations for printers?

Shutterfly's interface is (was? been a while) kind of painful, but we've gotten good results from them.

Chatbooks makes it fairly brainlessly easy to produce books regularly (and had a hilarious ad a few years back focusing on the ease of use compared to other options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2eKaOc3wo).

I can't swear to the longevity of the books - I never dug into the details of how they're printed, because I'm not especially concerned about making sure they last a hundred years.

It's the right strategy in principle, though, if that is your goal.

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#74

Post by prepend »

I used to really like IFTTT. They changed. They turned off stuff that used to work and added different licenses.

I would never rely on IFTTT to work in 5 years, much less 50.

This is a neat idea, but it doesn’t seem like it will work when I really need it to.

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#75

Post by mohamedattahri »

prepend wrote: post #74

I used to really like IFTTT. They changed. They turned off stuff that used to work and added different licenses. I would never rely on IFTTT to work in 5 years, much less 50. This is a neat idea, but it doesn’t seem like it will work when I really need it to.

IFTTT is really the beginning. We’ll be rolling out webhooks, so hopefully, you can build something you can trust off of it.

Edit: Typo.

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#76

Post by Edd314159 »

mohamedattahri wrote: post #70
Edd314159 wrote: post #12

I'm fascinated by the pricing implication here. The older you are, and the more imminent your need for it, the cheaper it is!

Not really; it would be the same as saying that leasing a car is cheaper if nearer to death than not. We're not a life insurance that you have to contribute to in exchange for a payout. We're a service that watches over you for one year to make sure your plan is revealed and shared with your loved ones.

Well if you plan to lease the car for the rest of your life, however long that ends up being, then yes the number of years left in your life determines how much it is going to cost you.

This comparison breaks down in a few ways: with the car, I realise the value of it immediately, as I get to drive it around, whereas for a service that only activates on my death, the value is only _potential_ until that actually happens.

Also, I can terminate my car lease and feel OK about it, I have already realised value, it did its job. If I pay for this service for a year, but I don’t die, have I realised any value? Maybe marginally in the peace of mind I will feel while alive, but there’s no arguing that the optimal way for me (or more realistically, my estate) to get the most value for money is to buy just one year of service, and then kick the bucket in that same year?

Edit: I’m not saying any of this necessarily wrong, it’s just a really interesting quirk of pricing incentives

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#77

Post by random_kris »

edmundsauto wrote: post #41
mohamedattahri wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good question. The way to think about us is more like a home insurance. When you purchase a policy, your home is covered if something happens to it for one year. When it expires, you can renew it again. If the insurance goes out of business, you can choose another carrier or find another alternative. It’s not so different with us. You purchase a subscription, and it covers you for one year if you pass away…

I've been thinking about this topic after I got married, and realized that I wanted to back up my wedding photos for 100+ years so my great-great-grandkids have the originals. I wonder if this is a good use of blockchain technology. The company sets things up in such a way where there are resources and mechanisms to keep things running after the company collapses. Theoretically, as long as the s3 bills are paid, thin…

Arweave

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#78

Post by anigbrowl »

Interesting idea, although I'm not sure it's more effective than drafting a will and including the same information about passwords etc. - which is admittedly more difficult for non-technical users.

How do you hedge against the risk of people using your service to commit posthumous crimes?

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#79

Post by mohamedattahri »

anigbrowl wrote: post #78

Interesting idea, although I'm not sure it's more effective than drafting a will and including the same information about passwords etc. - which is admittedly more difficult for non-technical users. How do you hedge against the risk of people using your service to commit posthumous crimes?

Interesting question for jurists; can you commit a crime if you technically and legally don’t exist?

Re: Show HN: Posterity Automations – Get things done from the afterlife

#80

Post by aaronbrethorst »

vermilingua wrote: post #64
aaronbrethorst wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With archival quality pigment inks https://keithdotson.com/blogs/news/how-long-will-your-photog...

Do you have any insight on whether NeverTear would be good media for long-term archival? Waterproof and damage resistant is a big plus, but I wonder if they come at the cost of pigmant durability.

I can’t say for sure. I’ve never used the product you mention, but it is made out of polyester, which is supposed to be great for archival purposes. So…probably yes?
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