On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 4:36 PM William Donzelli via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> > This is one of the things that disappointed me most about the Computer > History Museum in Mountain View, CA. Sure you can’t let the public interact > with *everything*, but since so much of computing since its inception has > been about interaction with active systems, just displaying them is leaving > out a large amount of what really makes them interesting. The CHM does a > lot of great preservation, archival, and curatorial work, but this really > feels like a glaring omission. > > The problem is that the public wrecks stuff. Big time. And they steal > stuff. Just for the thrill. Even just the stupidest little thing, like > a keycap. > So depressingly true. I run the little museum in Google's NYC office. I've had a bunch of working 80's-90's era machines and workstations on display, but they require constant repair because people are too lazy or entitled to treat them with care - people erase boot disks - they bring in children as visitors and let them pound the keys until they break - the open cabinets and pull out trays marked "DO NOT OPEN. IT WILL GET STUCK". Do you know what? Once a week I have to go and close chassis that is stuck open. - They drop and crack any artifacts in a glass display case (I now encase boards in plexiglass frames) and then stick them out of sight - despite our blameless "if you see something, report it" policy. - They drop broken old hardware off - anonymously. - They want me to take the stuff from their basement and do the work to make it displayable - while promising that people won't break it. When colleagues ask about setting up displays in their offices I tell them not to. It is 10x more work than they think, and frustrating to receive rare and interesting items that you know will be ruined. A long time ago, I volunteered on BB-59 (battleship MASSACHUSETTS), > and dealt with the radars. I was warned about people stealing stuff. > One night I was in the ET shack (radar technician compartment) - a > small room maybe 15 by 5 feet. Normally locked with a USN padlock, I > was at the bench with a radar scope, door unlocked so visitors could > come in and ask questions. I left the padlock open and hanging from > the latch. Yup, some kid stile the lock. > It might not have been a kid. Adults are often class one miscreants. > So yes, every museum must weigh public interaction against artifact > damage, and what is the mission of the museum. CHM is more > conservative, LCM more liberal*. I think it is good to have both > sides. > There was a great bit in a "Most Interesting Man in the World" commercial "When he goes to museums, he is allowed to touch the art." > > -- > Will > > * 100 percent not political, but in the more classic sense. If you > bring this up politically, I will shit down your throat. >
