---
title: Obsolete writing
---

**Obsolete writing** refers to writing that has become obsolete due to
reasons including (1) the author has changed their mind on the
subject; (2) a better version of the same kind of document has been
published; (3) the writing had some purpose that it used to serve and
no longer serves (e.g. an advertisement for a product that no longer
exists). Note that even obsolete writing can be useful for archival,
anthropological, or legal purposes.

It is common for writing to become obsolete.

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## History

(Has anyone else investigated this?)

## Dealing with obsolete writing

There are various ways to deal with a piece of writing once it has
become obsolete:

- Delete the writing or allow it to be deleted (for instance, by not
  renewing a hosting fee).
- Do nothing.
- Mark the writing as obsolete.
- Alter the prominence of the writing among other pieces of writing
  (for instance, rather than linking to a piece from the homepage of
  the website, link to it from "the archives" or "old writings").

## Traits

What traits do obsolete writing have in common? Maybe:

- Opinion pieces tend to become obsolete more quickly because people
  learn more and change their minds.
- Reference works tend to *not* become obsolete as quickly, although
  they can be *improved*. These tend to become obsolete only (?) when
  a competitor shows up (e.g. *Encyclopædia Britannica* became
  obsolete to many once Wikipedia became a viable alternative; Samuel
  Johnson's [*A Dictionary of the English
  Language*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language)
  was the preeminent English language dictionary until the *Oxford
  English Dictionary* came around).
- False information tends to become more obsolete as the truth is
  discovered (but it might take a long time).

## Prevention

It can be disheartening for writers to discover that much of their
writing has become obsolete.

## See also

## External links