History continues across change.
The present location of information is only one moment in its story. A file, record or collection can carry significance from what came before, even after it has moved or been copied.
Cleverfeets / Principles
How we approach a digital estate.
Understanding long-lived digital information means looking beyond what is convenient or immediately visible. History, context and uncertainty all have a place in understanding what something means — and in deciding what should happen to it next.
01—05 / Principles
Understanding before action.
Context is part of meaning.
Information rarely stands alone. The circumstances around an item — who it concerns, what it belongs with or when it mattered — can change what it means.
Organisation is not understanding.
Visible order can make material easier to find without resolving what it is, what it relates to or what remains unknown. Order is a useful aid, not an answer in itself.
Uncertainty should remain visible.
Long-lived information often leaves an incomplete account. Gaps and competing explanations belong to that account too. Useful judgement can still be made while uncertainty remains visible.
Understanding should come before destructive change.
When an action may be difficult or impossible to undo, understanding what is involved should come first. A convenient present view should not be mistaken for the whole story.
Cleverfeets / Stewardship
Tend what has accumulated.
A digital estate carries more than what is visible now. It carries traces of where things came from, what they belonged to and what may still be uncertain. Cleverfeets is being built to make that accumulated history easier to understand and tend.