In my soon to be two years of being part of the Steem ecosystem, one of the primary attractors for me has been the idea that the blockchain — basically, *what we post here* — offers a sort of *permanent record* of whatever is put here. 

I really like the idea that my stuff is just *"there,"* independently of the whims of some central organization, a company, or something else.

![210Leaves140114a.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/denmarkguy/7iXyEdpI-210-Leaves-140114a.jpg)
*Sun on leaves*

I've been part of more web communities than I care to think of, and one of my biggest issues — and sources of distress — was always this nagging idea that the venue I was pouring my heart and soul into *could basically shut down and be gone tomorrow.*

And, I might add, that *did* happen to me on numerous occasions... although on *some* of those occasions the site operators had the decency to give a week's (or a month's) warning, and suggest that everyone hurry up and *"archive their posts."*

## *Confessions of a Word Hoarder...*

Now, I realize that a lot of people would care very little if their web content suddenly vanished one day... perhaps relegating such an event to the ranks of *"mildly annoying."*

![226Leaves140401a.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/denmarkguy/wegFspWN-226-Leaves-140401a.jpg)
*Water droplets on Japanese maples*

As a life-long writer, I guess I am just a little more "attached" to my words, and my work.

To wit, I have back-up files of pretty much *everything* of significance I have ever written... *just in case.* I suppose that makes me some strange kind of "word hoarder!"

But *I* am not really the prime example I am thinking of, when it comes to questioning this *"promise."* In this case, I am more concerned for artists, musicians, photographers and other creatives who latch onto the concept in hopes of *FINALLY* having some kind of safe online "archive" for their body of work.

Once conversation I had included the words *"It would be really cool if my grandkids could come here, many years down the road, and see what one of their family members was up to, in 2019!"*

Yes, indeed. That would be really cool!

![246NewSunset140716f.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/denmarkguy/YLXPYmQF-246-New-Sunset-140716f.jpg)
*Sunset over the Olympic Mountain Range*

## *Getting Back to the Blockchain*

In recent days, I have had several discussions with people about where they contribute, and how we feel about the proliferation of new blockchain based content sites that seem to be coming online, these days.

I know about the *promise* of blockchain principles and how it is *supposed* to work, but with so *many* of these often *"thinly backed"* projects, are they all going to be able to *keep that promise* of serving as a sort of permanent storage for our content; if you will, our own personalized version of the Internet Archive (aka *"The Wayback Machine"*)? Or are they just as likely to go away as any other format, once sufficient "density" is reached?

What brings this to the forefront of my thoughts right now is the recent talk about *"some group"* of witnesses allegedly wanting to fork Steem, as a sort of defensive move against a broader lack of confidence in the Steemit, Inc. organization.

![240Clover140713a.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/denmarkguy/UMXipwDy-240-Clover-140713a.jpg)
*Are you feeling lucky, today?*

Of course, I'm a sure there's a bunch of people ready to step up and say *"Yeah, but all your stuff would live on in the fork!"*

Be that as it may, when you keep splitting something up, will there always be someone interested in keeping the branches moving forward?

After all, cities are created with the *best of intentions,* and yet we *do* end up with "ghost towns." Just saying...

It's not that I am *actively worried* at this point... more posing the broader philosophical discussion of whether we can truly rely on blockchains and their technology to keep their promises? Or is it like everything else in life... *"there are always exceptions..."*

Thanks for reading!

***What do YOU think?*** How confident are you that the Steem — or any other — blockchain truly *is* a type of permanent "data vault?" Can excessive forks cause excessive "thinning," to the point where a chain just *stops?* Or will there *always* be someone to take up the slack? Or do I simply not understand how things work? ***Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!***

<center>![Power House Creatives Logos FINAL_float.png](https://steemitimages.com/350x250/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmd3ZgczWd8wzLLhwBJ9WkGqf46kfizUHL9qq5zV4Z56gZ/Power%20House%20Creatives%20Logos%20FINAL_float.png)</center>

*(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190118 16:54 PST*
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