Unserviceable interpretive technology harms visitors more than its absence does

Evidence

No institution should install any mechanical devices until it knows that such gadgets can be adequately, continually, and quickly serviced. No matter how good they may be when they are working properly, they are a source of shame and chagrin, as well as an imposition on the public, when they are allowed to be more than briefly inoperative. — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 571

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the ‘Grafting & Growth’ theme of infrastructure: broken interpretive infrastructure, like a dead root bridge, fails its protective function — maintenance is the hidden cost of any tool.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s reading on law/institutions and the base-network maintenance failures catalogued in Base Nation — institutional upkeep as the neglected tail of any system. — connects to: Unnecessary amplification can degrade rather than improve a live talk — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 575; Standing visitors will not read long or all-caps interpretive text — Freeman Tilden, Interpreting Our Heritage, 408; Access systems interfere with users’ information navigational skills. — Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna, The AI Con- How to Fight Big Tech’s…, 455 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Access systems interfere with users’ information navigational skills. #complicates (0.78) — Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna, The AI Con- How to Fight Big Tech’s…, 455
• Improved communication technology increases misunderstanding between groups #expands (0.72) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 640