netart-extinction
A public timeline documenting how dependency changes break digital artworks: API shutdowns, plugin end-of-lifes, browser removals.
Role: Developer
About the Project
A public timeline documenting how digital artworks “go extinct” because their dependencies change underneath them: an API is shut down, a plugin reaches end-of-life (the classic case: Flash), a browser removes a feature. Live at extinction.zkm.de.
Features
- Event model: extinction events (e.g. “Flash Player EOL”) with the affected works, each carrying a severity and status
- Artwork records: canonical entries per work (title, artist, year, URL, medium)
- Typed content: events and works as validated Astro Content Collections rather than a database
- Interactive timeline: client-side D3 SVG visualization
- Citable: MIT (code) + CC BY 4.0 (content), with a Zenodo DOI
Tech
Astro static site with a D3.js timeline, served by nginx in Docker; deployed via GitHub Actions with auto-deploy on main.