Digital Ruins and Critical Code Studies: Towards an Ethics of Historical Software Reconstruction
Figure 1: Pyramid B, Tula, Mexico, as restored by Jorge Acosta in 1941 The reconstruction of historical software presents unique challenges that lie at the intersection of archival preservation, computing history, historical interpretation, and ethical practice. This article argues that the field of critical code studies needs to consider helping to develop new frameworks for software reconstruction that balance functional recovery with historical accuracy – frameworks that, I argue, can learn valuable lessons from architectural preservation practices. While the restoration of buildings and the reconstruction of code may seem very different, both grapple with fundamental questions about authenticity, interpretation, and the ethical practices of reconstruction. Drawing on principles established in architectural preservation, particularly through UNESCO's World Heritage Convention and the Charter of Venice, I propose a set of guiding principles for the reconstruction of what I call...
