Flickr Data Lifeboat: ENOLA_GAY - Raw Data Lifeboat

Overview

This is the raw, unprocessed version of the Flickr Data Lifeboat: ENOLA_GAY Data Lifeboat - a self-contained digital preservation archive created by the Flickr Foundation.

🔗 ML-Ready Version: For machine learning applications, see the processed dataset: flickr-data-lifeboat:-enola_gay

What is a Data Lifeboat?

Data Lifeboats are self-contained archives designed to preserve not just images, but the complete social and cultural context that makes them meaningful. Unlike traditional datasets, they include:

• 📁 Complete file structure with original organization
• 🌐 Built-in web viewer for browsing without external tools
• 📊 Rich metadata preserved in JavaScript format
• 🔗 No external dependencies - everything needed is included
• 🏛️ Community context - tags, comments, and social interactions

Collection Details

• Collection ID: ENOLA_GAY
• Created: 2025-06-18 16:38:58.275935
• Curator: Unknown Creator
• Total Files: ~32
• Archive Size: ~3 MB

Purpose

Legacy Data Lifeboat collection

Archive Structure

data/ENOLA_GAY/
├── viewer/                    # Built-in web viewer application
│   ├── index.html            # Main viewer interface  
│   ├── browse.html           # Browse photos interface
│   ├── photo.html           # Individual photo viewer
│   └── static/              # CSS, JavaScript, and assets
├── metadata/                 # All metadata in JavaScript format
│   ├── lifeboat.js          # Collection metadata
│   ├── photoIndex.js        # Index of all photos
│   ├── tagIndex.js          # Tag index and frequencies
│   ├── licenseIndex.js      # License information
│   ├── contributorIndex.js  # User/institution data
│   ├── albumIndex.js        # Album information
│   ├── galleryIndex.js      # Gallery data
│   ├── groupIndex.js        # Group information
│   └── photos/              # Individual photo metadata
│       ├── [photo_id].js    # One file per photo
│       └── ...
├── media/                   # All image files
│   ├── originals/           # Full resolution images
│   └── thumbnails/          # Thumbnail versions
└── README.html             # Collection documentation

How to Use This Archive

Option 1: Web Viewer (Recommended)

1. Download the entire archive
2. Open data/ENOLA_GAY/viewer/index.html in any web browser
3. Browse photos, view metadata, and explore the collection

Option 2: Direct File Access

• Images: data/ENOLA_GAY/media/originals/ and data/ENOLA_GAY/media/thumbnails/
• Metadata: data/ENOLA_GAY/metadata/ directory contains all structured data
• Documentation: data/ENOLA_GAY/README.html for collection details

Option 3: Programmatic Access

The metadata is stored in JavaScript format but can be easily parsed:

import json
import re
from pathlib import Path

def parse_js_metadata(js_file_path):
    """Parse JavaScript metadata files"""
    content = Path(js_file_path).read_text()
    # Extract JSON from: var variableName = {...};
    json_match = re.search(r'var\s+\w+\s*=\s*(\{.*\});?', content, re.DOTALL)
    if json_match:
        return json.loads(json_match.group(1))
    return None

# Load collection metadata
collection_info = parse_js_metadata('data/ENOLA_GAY/metadata/lifeboat.js')
photo_index = parse_js_metadata('data/ENOLA_GAY/metadata/photoIndex.js')

Data Format and Standards

Metadata Format

• JavaScript Objects: Structured data in .js files
• UTF-8 Encoding: All text files use UTF-8
• Consistent Naming: File names follow Flickr conventions
• Cross-References: IDs link photos, tags, comments, and users

Image Format

• Originals: JPEG/PNG in original resolution and format
• Thumbnails: JPEG thumbnails for web viewing
• Naming: [photo_id]_[secret]_[size].[format]

Licensing

All photos in this collection have open licenses:

• Primary: "No known copyright restrictions" (Commons)
• Others: Various Creative Commons licenses
• See: metadata/licenseIndex.js for complete license information

Preservation Principles

This Data Lifeboat follows digital preservation best practices:

✅ Self-Contained: No external dependencies or API calls
✅ Standards-Based: Uses HTML, CSS, JavaScript - universally supported
✅ Human-Readable: Can be understood without specialized software
✅ Machine-Readable: Structured data for computational analysis
✅ Documented: Comprehensive metadata and documentation included
✅ Portable: Works on any system with a web browser

Research Applications

This raw format is ideal for:

• Digital Preservation Research: Studying self-contained archive formats
• Metadata Analysis: Examining community-generated tags and comments
• Cultural Heritage: Preserving social context of cultural artifacts
• Web Archaeology: Understanding historical web interfaces and formats
• Custom Processing: Building your own analysis tools

Related Resources

Processed Version

For machine learning and computational analysis, use the processed version:

• Dataset: flickr-data-lifeboat:-enola_gay
• Features: Images as HuggingFace Image features, structured metadata
• Ready-to-use: Compatible with datasets library and ML frameworks

Learn More

• Data Lifeboat Initiative
• Flickr Foundation
• Flickr Commons Program

Technical Notes

Browser Compatibility

The viewer works in all modern browsers:

• Chrome/Chromium 70+
• Firefox 65+
• Safari 12+
• Edge 79+

File Handling

• Some browsers may restrict local file access for security
• For full functionality, serve files through a local web server:

  # Python 3
  python -m http.server 8000
  
  # Node.js  
  npx serve .
  

Citation

@misc{enola_gay_raw},
  title = {Flickr Data Lifeboat: ENOLA_GAY - Raw Data Lifeboat},
  author = {Unknown Creator},
  year = {2025},
  publisher = {Hugging Face},
  url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/[your-username]/[dataset-name]-raw},
  note = {Self-contained digital preservation archive}
}

Future Considerations

This is an older format Data Lifeboat without lifeboat.js metadata.

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Preservation Notice: This archive is designed to remain accessible indefinitely. The self-contained format ensures that future researchers can access and understand this collection even if external services or APIs change.