Data degradation, also known as data decay or data rot, is a colloquial computing phrase for the gradual decay of storage media. It should not be confused with "bit rot", defined in the Jargon File as a jocular explanation for the degradation of a software program over time even if "nothing has changed".
Wikipedia. Data degradation. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_degradation
Krauss, K. (2011, August 6). When data disappears. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/opinion/sunday/when-data-disappears.html?_r=0
* Pogue, D. (2009, March 26). Should you worry about data rot? New York Times. Retrieved from http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/should-you-worry-about-data-rot/
Rothenberg, J. (1999, February 22). Ensuring the longevity of digital information. Retrieved from: http://www.clir.org/pubs/archives/ensuring.pdf
- On a related note, Rothenberg's website had broken links to the original article in Scientific American and the link I provided is to a latter, expanded version of the article. In an ideal world, which do we preserve - both articles? If so, how do we handle that - in one record or multiple?