Archiving Virtual Worlds is one of the sub groupings on the Internet Archive system. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that aims to protect the “right to remember” by creating a database of information about web history. While the intent of the site seems to be good, its functional scope is very limited. It is currently storing its preserved websites on IDE hard drives in the form of 100-megabyte ARC files. So far none of the projects related to moving images or text seem to have a significant number of entries – “ephemeral films” includes 764 items while “youth media” includes only 459. The most downloaded “youth media” film is a somewhat dated PSA from the early 2000s. This seems to indicate that the site isn’t fulfilling its purpose of archiving important internet historical movements. The categories themselves also have the taint of an organization out of touch with the focus of most internet content. They seem strange, arbitrary and disconnected from the general online community. The “spirituality & religion” link, for example, has significantly more videos posted than the “news & public affairs” link for some reason. There is another taint of a religious angle about the fact that one featured spotlight item is the short clip “Are You Ready for Marriage?” which features two teenagers asking their minister about marrying young. All in all the site feels and looks like something that was developed early in the internet boom (it was founded in 1999) which never adapted to changing times.
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