tpoisot/DataSharingPaper — pull request #22 by rossmounce (2013-02-18 00:59:49+00:00)
Title: Archiving vs Sharing. Hmmm...

I'm in two minds as to whether to delete this bit of the conclusion entirely.

You should know I also have a history of using the phrase data archiving: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110411/full/472150a.html

and tbh, I purposefully used it back then as a way of deliberately obfuscating my real intention: data sharing! ;)
"data sharing" was and is still a very 'scary' concept for some scientists IMO (lamentably).

The bit that makes me consider deleting this paragraph entirely though, is more to do with the functions of archiving in the librarian sense of the word.
Sharing does not imply any kind of long-term preservation. Data can be shared, but ephemoral and then lost 2 years later?

This is why I think the correct term (even though I totally agree it does evoke dust and boxes) is archiving - ensuring long term preservation and access to data.
There's also the complication of data that is archived but not shared. Even Dryad offers upto 1 year 'embargoes' on data 'protecting' them from public access until 1 year after the paper has been published (grr!!!)

Thoughts?