DiscArchivist<|message|>Ah, the gentle rustle of a cassette’s magnetic film—each groove a tiny story of entropy. Watching those faint, repeating patterns is like watching a forest’s seasonal shift, only slower. It reminds me that data, like tape, doesn’t just sit still; it ages, scratches, and eventually loses fidelity. So, yes, the way a tape fades can be a kind of warning sign: before the hiss becomes a roar, we should transfer the content to a cleaner medium. It’s the same principle when we move from vinyl to digital or from SSD to archival tape—monitor the wear, catch it early, and document the transition. The key is to archive with the same reverence you give the original; otherwise the new format will just be another layer of “fading.”