17 votes

What’s your method for archiving bookmarked/liked social media posts?

Following the recent upsets with both Twitter and Reddit, how have people here been exporting/archiving their bookmarked/favorited/liked/etc threads, posts, and the content within (images, links, etc) for later reference?

It hit me not too long ago that there’s a lot of good stuff I’ve bookmarked over the years on both and it’d be unfortunate for viewing it to be locked behind keeping accounts active. Additionally, more and more of it’s disappearing over time not just due to link rot (which seems to have been accelerating dramatically in the past decade), but also as a result of users deleting their posts on the way out.

I’m particularly interested in solutions that saves content locally, because exporting these things to e.g. a cloud read it later service or bookmark manager really just shifts the problem around instead of solving it, but beggars can’t be choosers and all that.

31 comments

  1. [3]
    Weldawadyathink
    Link
    I have a very elaborate system🙃. If they are Reddit posts (back when I used Reddit), I used Apollo’s save feature and then forgot they existed. If they are tildes posts, I use the bookmark feature...

    I have a very elaborate system🙃. If they are Reddit posts (back when I used Reddit), I used Apollo’s save feature and then forgot they existed. If they are tildes posts, I use the bookmark feature and forget they exist. If it’s a website I save it as a bookmark in whatever browser I am using at the time and forget it exists.

    39 votes
    1. first-must-burn
      Link Parent
      Are we the same person? I would say so, but for me it was Sync for Reddit.

      Are we the same person? I would say so, but for me it was Sync for Reddit.

      5 votes
    2. TheRTV
      Link Parent
      Forgetting is part of the fun! You can periodically go through your saved posts and experience them again lol

      Forgetting is part of the fun! You can periodically go through your saved posts and experience them again lol

      1 vote
  2. [3]
    Akir
    Link
    For the most part I don't. It's extremely rare that social media content will hold it's value over a few years time. Bookmarks are typically short-term for me to look at something when I have more...

    For the most part I don't. It's extremely rare that social media content will hold it's value over a few years time. Bookmarks are typically short-term for me to look at something when I have more time, and the stuff I have still bookmarked are full of bizzare and outdated things; the remaining utility is almost entirely nostalgia.

    That being said, there's a really easy way to archive almost every webpage as long as it's not dynamic: ctrl-s in just about every browser will let you save the webpage along with it's images. last time I checked both Firefox and Chrome have built-in screenshot utilities that will capture the entirety of the page. Unfortunately neither is a universally good option because of the way that some websites are designed.

    11 votes
    1. [2]
      raze2012
      Link Parent
      It depends on the topic. The worst part is that the internet is not indeed forever, so you'll find that half your older bookmarks may not even work. But there's some itchy feelings I had of...

      and the stuff I have still bookmarked are full of bizzare and outdated things; the remaining utility is almost entirely nostalgia.

      It depends on the topic. The worst part is that the internet is not indeed forever, so you'll find that half your older bookmarks may not even work. But there's some itchy feelings I had of certain media or articles I wanted to bring up but couldn't find for the life of me. Especially some esoteric technical knowldge. You'd be surprised what can look neat today but you wouldn't actually use for 5+ years but then the situation arises and you go "wait I read something abut that a while back".

      But sure, I still keep some old college pages bookmarked for mostalgia. Memories are always nice.

      5 votes
      1. ButteredToast
        Link Parent
        Yep, this is one of my biggest reasons for bookmarking things. There’s a good chance that I’ll have a sudden want or even a need for the bookmarked content at some point, and I know this because...

        You'd be surprised what can look neat today but you wouldn't actually use for 5+ years but then the situation arises and you go "wait I read something abut that a while back".

        Yep, this is one of my biggest reasons for bookmarking things. There’s a good chance that I’ll have a sudden want or even a need for the bookmarked content at some point, and I know this because these wants/need have struck for things that I know I didn’t bookmark (at which point, good luck finding it again).

        4 votes
  3. [12]
    kwyjibo
    Link
    I use Raindrop. It's not free but it's a polished, nicely built cross platform app also available on the web. I used to use Pinboard and I loved it but its developer has clearly given up on it and...

    I use Raindrop. It's not free but it's a polished, nicely built cross platform app also available on the web. I used to use Pinboard and I loved it but its developer has clearly given up on it and I didn't want to rely on it anymore, given the nature of the service.

    I have not looked into this yet, but in the future I could look into self-hosted solutions. I am happy with Raindrop, but I use it not to retrieve stuff but to store it and I store it, quite frankly, for peace of mind. It's far and few in between the times I actually log into it to dig something up. It's basically a service I pay for because of some psychological need, instead of a practical one. If you fall into the latter category, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

    5 votes
    1. [11]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Ditto. I really like Maciej Ceglowski as a person, admire all he's done over the years, and what he stands for as a developer and activist. I used to read all his posts on idlewords until he...

      I used to use Pinboard and I loved it but its developer has clearly given up on it

      Ditto. I really like Maciej Ceglowski as a person, admire all he's done over the years, and what he stands for as a developer and activist. I used to read all his posts on idlewords until he stopped posting new entries for whatever reason. But I still reference his 'Haunted by Data' talk often, and it was even mentioned by Deimos in the Announcing Tildes blog post...

      So I do want to continue supporting him and his endeavours. But I just can't use Pinboard anymore. It's very clearly been abandoned, which is especially worrying for a bookmarking service. And their archiving service simply isn't worth the ongoing cost anymore since there are way better bookmarking+archive services out there now. E.g. Mozilla Pocket and archive.today, which are mostly what I use now instead.

      4 votes
      1. [10]
        kwyjibo
        Link Parent
        Yep, he's an excellent writer and presenter. I enjoy his witty prose that approaches topics from a fresh perspective. I'd get giddy whenever he'd publish a new article or talk, the same way I feel...

        Yep, he's an excellent writer and presenter. I enjoy his witty prose that approaches topics from a fresh perspective. I'd get giddy whenever he'd publish a new article or talk, the same way I feel about Bartosz Ciechanowski now, but as you implied, he has a tendency to disappear. I think the straw that broke the camel's back for me was when the API was unreachable for about a week or so and it wasn't the first time. Not only is this unacceptable, but I also remember him mocking people's support request publicly more than a handful of times.

        I like the Pinboard approach in many ways. I adore things that just do one thing and do it well. I don't want to deal with new features the developer felt they needed to release either to appease some users who want the next flashy thing or market their product better. Pinboard is otherwise a great, settled product but it just isn't reliable.

        I don't think I can trust Pinboard the service again but I do hope Maciej he finds it in him to write more often.

        1 vote
        1. [9]
          cfabbro
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Yeah, wherever Maciej is in the world now, I hope he's doing alright, and has found some work he considers worthwhile, regardless of if it's programming or political activism. I just miss his...

          Yeah, wherever Maciej is in the world now, I hope he's doing alright, and has found some work he considers worthwhile, regardless of if it's programming or political activism. I just miss his posts, articles, and talks, am disappointed he has abandoned Pinboard, and has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth again. :(

          p.s. Bartosz Ciechanowski's posts are great. I'm a fan as well.

          2 votes
          1. [8]
            kwyjibo
            Link Parent
            I think he heard our calling because he just tweeted from the Idle Words account. (Not a new article, unfortunately.)

            I think he heard our calling because he just tweeted from the Idle Words account. (Not a new article, unfortunately.)

            1 vote
            1. [7]
              cfabbro
              Link Parent
              I don't have a X account, and I just get a registration nag screen when I click that. Do you mind sharing what he said?

              I don't have a twitter X account, and I just get a registration nag screen when I click that. Do you mind sharing what he said?

              1 vote
              1. [6]
                kwyjibo
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                Oh, I'm sorry. Here it is: Actually, this is a new article. I was fooled by the date on the post itself but the URL indicates (with the evidence that it was just shared on Twitter) that it was...

                Oh, I'm sorry. Here it is:

                "Right now the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (the entity responsible for manned space flight) couldn’t build a toaster for less than a billion dollars." My rant about America's dangerous, rudderless, and incoherent moon program https://idlewords.com/2024/5/the_lunacy_of_artemis.htm

                Actually, this is a new article. I was fooled by the date on the post itself but the URL indicates (with the evidence that it was just shared on Twitter) that it was published today.

                It's too bad we didn't wish for something else!

                1 vote
                1. [5]
                  cfabbro
                  Link Parent
                  Thanks. Disappointing he's just pointing to an old post. And TBH, of all his posts, his rants about the space program are the ones I enjoy the least. :( I wonder what precipitated him posting...

                  Thanks. Disappointing he's just pointing to an old post. And TBH, of all his posts, his rants about the space program are the ones I enjoy the least. :( I wonder what precipitated him posting that.

                  Edit: Oh, is it a new article? I don't remember reading it before... I was thinking of the Mars one. But this new? Artemis one is not showing up on his main page as being newer than that one. And the date on the site itself is busted. Weird!

                  1 vote
                  1. [4]
                    kwyjibo
                    Link Parent
                    I realized after making my comment that it is a new article! I edited it but you must have already read it. I agree, his posts on the space program are the ones I enjoy the least but it's good to...

                    I realized after making my comment that it is a new article! I edited it but you must have already read it.

                    I agree, his posts on the space program are the ones I enjoy the least but it's good to see that he's not given up on his blog.

                    1 vote
                    1. [3]
                      cfabbro
                      Link Parent
                      Yeah, for sure. It's been a long time since he last posted, so it's definitely good to know he's still alive. And hopefully this is a sign he will start writing regularly again... although fingers...

                      Yeah, for sure. It's been a long time since he last posted, so it's definitely good to know he's still alive. And hopefully this is a sign he will start writing regularly again... although fingers crossed the next post will be about something other than the US space program (which I'm not super interested reading criticism about). ;)

                      2 votes
                      1. [2]
                        kwyjibo
                        Link Parent
                        It'd be great if he traveled somewhere like Antarctica and kept a travel log, those posts were great to read. But if he wants to write about space so much, he can travel in space and write about...

                        It'd be great if he traveled somewhere like Antarctica and kept a travel log, those posts were great to read. But if he wants to write about space so much, he can travel in space and write about that, too. This way we all win. 😊

                        1 vote
                        1. cfabbro
                          Link Parent
                          Hah, yeah that would be pretty rad. I really enjoyed his posts from Hong Kong too. He would make a great travel writer or travel correspondent/journalist, IMO.

                          Hah, yeah that would be pretty rad. I really enjoyed his posts from Hong Kong too. He would make a great travel writer or travel correspondent/journalist, IMO.

                          2 votes
  4. [2]
    patience_limited
    Link
    I don't know if anyone collects online recipes the way I do, but Paprika Recipe Manager does a brilliant job of extracting recipe content from webpages and saving it in usable, organized format....

    I don't know if anyone collects online recipes the way I do, but Paprika Recipe Manager does a brilliant job of extracting recipe content from webpages and saving it in usable, organized format. The data can be exported as plain HTML files, so you're not locked in if the vendor goes out of business.

    I've tried scraping sites/pages to save content as /u/Akir mentioned, but I can't think of the last time I tried to find something I cared about that wasn't accessible via archive.org.

    I'm playing around with Capacities as a combination mind-mapper and archive, but I'm not sure this solves either use case definitively.

    4 votes
    1. Weldawadyathink
      Link Parent
      Another +1 for paprika. I’ll also mention a similar app I use for mixed drinks: Mixel. Very cool art style and some really cool features.

      Another +1 for paprika. I’ll also mention a similar app I use for mixed drinks: Mixel. Very cool art style and some really cool features.

      3 votes
  5. xk3
    Link
    If it's something that I feel is (my abstract notion of) knowledge then I save it here: knowledge.list. Usually things only go there if I think about it more than once or if I've referenced it...

    If it's something that I feel is (my abstract notion of) knowledge then I save it here: knowledge.list. Usually things only go there if I think about it more than once or if I've referenced it before in conversation

    If it's something I want to tinker with in the future then I save it here: todo_tools

    I have the same repo on my phone too so I can add stuff (via Termux), even offline and sync it later but usually I just use SSH. I have the same fish function on both too:

    function knowledge
        for l in $argv
            echo $l | sed 's|\.m\.|.|' >>~/j/lists/knowledge.list
        end
        sorted ~/j/lists/knowledge.list
    end
    
    function sorted
        if isatty stdin
            sort --unique --stable --ignore-case $argv | sponge $argv
        else
            cat - | string trim | sort --unique --stable --ignore-case
        end
    end
    

    Beyond those two categories I haven't felt a need to store lists of things aside from normal data hoarding activities.

    It has been pretty useful to save my internet comments so that I can search them and reference them later:

    ~/j/social/
    library tildes ~/d/library/datasets/social/tildes.db xk3 --cookies ~/.local/cookies-tildes-net.txt
    for title in (sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/tildes.db 'select path from media' | sed 's|.*\(/\)||' | strip)
        sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/tildes.db "select text from media where path like '%$title'" >$title.html
    end
    
    ~/d/library/datasets/social/
    reddit-user-to-sqlite user BuonaparteII
    
    ~/j/social/
    for title in (sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/reddit.db 'select permalink from comments' | sed 's|.*\/comments\/[^\/]*\/\(.*\)/.*|\1|' | tr / '#')
        set comment_id (string split '#' -f2 $title)
        sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/reddit.db "select text from comments where permalink like '%$comment_id%'" >$title.md
    end
    for title in (sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/reddit.db 'select permalink from posts' | sed 's|.*\/comments\/[^\/]*\/\(.*\)/.*|\1|')
        sqlite --no-headers --raw-lines ~/d/library/datasets/social/reddit.db "select text from posts where permalink like '%$title%' order by timestamp desc limit 1" >$title.md
    end
    lb mergedbs --pk id ~/d/library/datasets/social/BuonaparteII.db ~/d/library/datasets/social/reddit.db
    
    4 votes
  6. JCAPER
    Link
    I save both the link and contents in my note taking app, which currently is Anytype (it’s like Notion, but privacy focused). I used to have the same problem as you, it happened more than once...

    I save both the link and contents in my note taking app, which currently is Anytype (it’s like Notion, but privacy focused). I used to have the same problem as you, it happened more than once having a link saved, only to then being deleted.

    Usually the web clipper works, but when it doesn’t, I copy paste manually the text when I get to my PC. I used to have a shortcut in my iphone that did this automatically for Apple Notes, but unfortunately they still haven’t implemented shortcut functions for Anytype

    In there, I separate each link with tags, one for when I want to check the link soon, another when I know I might need it someday but right now I can’t be bothered

    2 votes
  7. [3]
    mxuribe
    Link
    Not only specific to social media posts, I have somewhat standardized my approach to archiving any web or social media content that i wish to preserve in one of a few ways: if its text only, and i...

    Not only specific to social media posts, I have somewhat standardized my approach to archiving any web or social media content that i wish to preserve in one of a few ways:

    • if its text only, and i don't care about formatting, i likely might copy/paste into a text file on my local machine and save it in some folder such as "inspirational" or "references", etc. I include the original url as well as maybe a little summary or context of my own to help my future self remember why i saved it, etc.
    • if its text but i need to preserve somewhat the look and feel or some aspect of formatting at least a little bit, or maybe some images in the post are essential, then i toggle the "reader view" option in my browser (if the site supports it, which is odd that a very few do not)...and then "print to pdf", and save the pdf to local folder somewhere. Why the reader view instead of printing the original view of a web page? Because webpages nowadays often are built with so much crap or at least so many ads displace the content in weird ways when viewed in "print view". (This happens way more with commercial or social media sites, and less with the single person humble blog site of course.) So, the reader view really does a nice joib of "cleaning up/away" alot of the cruft but keeping the meat of the content of a webpage/post...most of the time.
    • Finally, if the preservation needs to be as identical as possible to the original, then i resort to screenshots. In some very rare cases, i take the screenshot, and also create an "companion" local text file containing the originl/source url and a little summary about the topic of the screenshot to aid in local search/grep.

    By the way, i still on occasion bookmark urls using my browsers bookmark feature...but i assume most things will eventually break because things just die on the web (sadly)...so there's an expectation of urls being ephemeral. Bookmarks are more like a temporary holding place for me; like a todo of web stuff to maybe watch in the near-future (or not).

    Also, do i like saving things in pdfs? Hellz no! But, over the years i've tried other options (full web page, web page with only html per browser save, Word docs, etc.), but none seem to be consistent enough nor easy/quick enough like printing/saving to pdfs...and, wow, do i dislike pdfs on several principles. But, hey, they seem to mostly do the job.

    There are many other options to archive web content, such as, but not limited to Singlefile (https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/SingleFile), ArchiveBox (https://archivebox.io/), WARC (https://archive-it.org/post/the-stack-warc-file/), etc....But i have been too lazy to explore.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      ButteredToast
      Link Parent
      I feel you on the disliking PDFs thing. It’d be nice if ePubs could be exported as easily and universally as PDFs can, since those are about as inclusive and self-contained while also being...

      I feel you on the disliking PDFs thing. It’d be nice if ePubs could be exported as easily and universally as PDFs can, since those are about as inclusive and self-contained while also being reflowable, restylable, etc. In particular it would be nice if browser reader modes could be rendered to ePub.

      2 votes
      1. mxuribe
        Link Parent
        Oh my goodness, yes! I never really knew much about the epub format...until recently as i have begun to download epub "ebooks" from places like project gutenburg, etc...and only glancing at the...

        Oh my goodness, yes! I never really knew much about the epub format...until recently as i have begun to download epub "ebooks" from places like project gutenburg, etc...and only glancing at the epub standard, i see that it really could/should have been a more universal (better!) format replacing PDFs...but clients-side/consumption side for viewing epubs is not so great or not ubiquitous in typical places like web browsers. Its really that pdfs have had such a long time in the limelight that clients and infra. have been built up over time....but if epubs were somehow given more limelight - and not only for ebooks - then i think there would be more usage of epub files for other scenarios beyond merely ebooks. Yeah, i've recently become a fan of epubs for sure!

        2 votes
  8. raze2012
    Link
    There were tools for that on reddit at least. It let me export all my favorites into a list of links. From there I put them on some cloud for a 2nd point of backup . I don't really otherwise have...

    There were tools for that on reddit at least. It let me export all my favorites into a list of links. From there I put them on some cloud for a 2nd point of backup .

    I don't really otherwise have a universal backup system. have a total of 10 bookmarks on Tildes and 20 favorites on Hackernews, so not at a scale where I'd seek a tool. You can always use browser bookmarks and then export those when needed. All major browsers have a built-in way to export them to HTML.

  9. Cldfire
    Link
    This just came out and has been very nice in the limited time I've spent with it so far: https://www.plinky.app

    This just came out and has been very nice in the limited time I've spent with it so far: https://www.plinky.app

  10. Sassanix
    Link
    I use linkading and wallabag and Joplin. For social media I just save within it.

    I use linkading and wallabag and Joplin. For social media I just save within it.

  11. eddielomax
    Link
    I use Pinboard and I wrote a python script that I run every now and then that deletes dead sites: https://github.com/ehamiter/pindead I made an attempt at my own bookmarking service but I lost...

    I use Pinboard and I wrote a python script that I run every now and then that deletes dead sites:

    https://github.com/ehamiter/pindead

    I made an attempt at my own bookmarking service but I lost steam on it.

    https://imgur.com/a/8ErkWrZ

  12. mjb
    Link
    I use Bibsonomy, "the blue social bookmark and publication sharing system."

    I use Bibsonomy, "the blue social bookmark and publication sharing system."

    Using BibSonomy you can easily create collections of bookmark and publication posts. Just insert bookmarks and publications. You can do this even faster with our BibSonomy browser add-ons or bookmarklets.

    In addition, you can also use ISBN, ISSN, DOI, or barcodes to have the insert publication form filled up automatically for you. Use tags to organize the posts in your collection. If you choose them carefully, tags are a very powerful instrument.

  13. patience_limited
    (edited )
    Link
    A new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now. It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data...

    A new beta just came to my attention, sublime.app. Web and IOS only for now.

    It's not free for practical purposes, looks like a lighter weight Evernote, and there's no information about data portability. But if you want a usable Internet scrapbook where you can save the interesting bits independent of whether a site stays live, this might be it. File size limit of 4 MB (for the free version, at least).

    There's a social aspect where you can share or follow other's collections, like Pinboard.

    I've dropped my test account because it's too pricy and buggy in Android browsers, but it may develop into something interesting.