Why are the Artemis II photos on Flickr?

Anil Dash writing about Flickr and its significance for the web:

many large institutions, especially ones that have developed complex processes for good reasons, like government agencies and big businesses, often have trouble maintaining public-facing web infrastructure over long timeframes

[…]

In contrast, platforms that are run by technically fluent, well-intentioned and thoughtful technologists can be very effective in maintaining content over a timescale of decades. The SmugMug team has been very thoughtful in managing both their business and their technical infrastructure in order to sustain Flickr’s public archives for years to come.

I’d noticed how many of the images from Artemis Ⅱ were showing up on Flickr, but I didn’t know why. I chalked it up to slow-moving governmental institutions being slow-moving and stuck in their ways.

Turns out, there are some really great reasons to host images on Flickr! I wasn’t aware of Flickr’s plans to build infrastructure that can last 100 years, nor did I know about Flickr Commons and the Flickr Foundation. These all seem like great initiatives doing good (and difficult) work building sustainable, solid, non-nonsense infrastructure for the web.

Super cool.