Jason Scott is my favorite archivist; I’ve written about his work on early LOL Cats, Computer Beach Party, his BBS Documentary, and his talk at Defcon 18 about inter-(software)-pirate battles.

His latest talk, from Defcon 19, is the best yet — Scott explains what the Archive Team does, why it matters, and what it has saved. It’s surprisingly emotional for nerds like me, who remember early web history, and appreciate seeing it preserved. Scott is a man who is driven — this is his life, this is our lives, and yeah, often he swears and shows us weird/awkward stuff from the web. But he’s profane because he’s passionate, and it’s not hard to love a man in a full tux and top hat.

Archive Team is an important resource — these people are saving Geocities, Google Video, Friendster, you name it. Their slogan, appropriately enough (and slightly redacted), is: “We are going to rescue your s–t.” Sing it, brother:

So you wanted that link with all the “under construction” images? Enjoy. (Warning: Scott is right, it can crash lesser browsers.)

(Via Waxy.org.)