Dear Luciana,

Thank you for your valuable thought-provoking comments. I am not converted yet, but I am trying hard to understand your point of view (and, honestly, my own as well).

Our difference of views looks a bit like an old dispute about whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. A farmer doesn’t really care (unless it impacts taxation), because tomatoes need the same care regardless. This may look silly to a botanist, of course :)

For me, recordness is tightly connected with discipline. As a records manager, I don’t care for non-records. If something needs care, protection, control, retention (however short-term), documented disposition, discovery and disclosure - it’s a record for me and for my organization. In that sense, I don’t differentiate records and evidence (let the legal counsel do it!).

We might be both right from our personal perspectives. Quantum theory may be of tremendous value in the domain of modern electronics, but quite unhelpful for an architect who is relying on good old Newton’s laws :)

With my best regards,
Natasha

PS It would be interesting to discuss the topic from another angle. Back-up subsystem (including the back-up media) is an integral part of a decent records and information storage system, and it is the system as a whole (as a “black box”) that keeps records (compare with much-hyped blockchain concept with its multiple copies of the ledger and consensus approach). Direct access to back-ups from outside can be considered as forensics. In that perspective, should we even pose a question of recordness of back-ups? May be we should speak about the proper maintenance of the components of the system instead …

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