The born-digital in future digital scholarly editing and publishing

The paper interrogates whether current theories, standards, and practices of digital scholarly editing adequately address the rapidly expanding corpus of born-digital cultural materials (e.g., social media, electronic literature, video games). It argues that while digital editions have matured technologically and procedurally, they largely remediate analogue sources and retain book-oriented paradigms, leaving a gap in how to critically edit and publish materials created, distributed, and consumed on digital platforms. The purpose is to assess the state-of-the-art, identify challenges unique to born-digital sources (scale, non-linearity, platform-dependence, multimodality, authenticity, and rights), and propose directions for future editing and publishing frameworks that produce authoritative, accessible, and sustainable editions for contemporary and future scholarship.

The authors position their argument within longstanding debates on the nature of text and scholarly editing, drawing on: Robinson’s propositions for critical digital editions and his emphasis on continuity with print-era editorial theory; Sahle’s differentiation of digitised vs digital editions and criteria for genuinely digital work; McGann’s socialized view of text, Bornstein’s interplay of bibliographic and linguistic codes, and subsequent acceptance of conditionality in editorial intervention. They review the centrality and flexibility of TEI XML for encoding text, alongside cautions (Cummings) that TEI may not always be appropriate. They engage van Zundert’s critique that digital editions risk a mere medium shift if hypertextual fluidity is not realized, and Schreibman’s call to move beyond migrating analogue norms. Historical accounts of CD-ROM-era platforms (e.g., Dynatext, CUP) and their influence on current web-based editions contextualize the persistence of book-oriented interfaces (browse, TOC, keyword/advanced search). The review also notes discussions of sustainability, DIY cultures in web publishing, and the scarcity of flexible, sustainable platforms with analytical features. Case literature includes Curios (a creative, immersive 3D museum for early digital fiction) and Pathfinders (Scalar-based documentation via traversal videos) as models for treating born-digital works tied to obsolete technologies. Additional adjacent discourses flagged for future integration include inclusive design, minimal computing, social and mobile editions, and engaged public scholarship.

This is a conceptual and critical essay rather than an empirical study. The authors: 1) conduct a historical and theoretical analysis of digital scholarly editing, comparing digitised and born-digital paradigms; 2) review standards and infrastructures (especially TEI XML) for their applicability to born-digital materials; 3) analyze publishing histories and models from the CD-ROM era to the web, highlighting interface tropes, sustainability, and business models; 4) discuss two illustrative cases—Digital Fiction Curios (immersive reconstruction/curation) and Pathfinders (documentation of traversal via Scalar)—to explore feasible, reproducible approaches for born-digital editions; and 5) synthesize challenges (e.g., non-linearity, platform influence, rights, preservation) to argue for rethinking editorial and publishing practices. The approach is argumentative and programmatic, proposing directions and criteria rather than implementing a new system.

- Digital scholarly editing has predominantly focused on digitising analogue sources, often reproducing book-oriented paradigms and interfaces; this risks becoming a mere medium shift rather than leveraging digital affordances. - Born-digital materials (social media, electronic literature, games) present distinct challenges—volume, variety, velocity; platform-shaped creation and reception; non-linearity; multimodality; questions of authenticity and rights; durability and preservation—that current practices insufficiently address. - Editorial processes have embraced digital tools (e.g., TEI XML), but outputs often remain book-like. Only features enabling reader-driven hypothesis formation and flexible interaction fully exploit the digital realm. - It is impractical to fully replicate original platforms or obsolete environments; editors must accept and, where appropriate, embrace decline and impermanence, focusing on documentation, contextualization, and reader needs (e.g., Pathfinders’ traversal documentation). - TEI’s extensibility makes it a plausible base to extend for born-digital encoding, but any framework must capture inter-relational, platform-shaped structures rather than enforcing fixed, linear codex models. - Publishing has been under-considered as an intellectual component of editing; interface, structure, and delivery are editorial interventions that must reflect born-digital reader needs. - Past publishing models (CD-ROM, web DIY) reveal sustainability and obsolescence risks; few open, sustainable, flexible platforms with analytical features exist, complicating adoption. - Readers and academic cultures continue to value print; many digital editions mimic print forms for familiarity and prestige, suggesting cultural, not purely technical, barriers to change. - Future editions may be dynamic and machine-assisted, but cultural and technical challenges remain substantial.

Addressing the central question—how to critically edit and publish born-digital materials—the paper argues that continuity with established editorial rigor must be maintained while reimagining outputs to suit platform-shaped, non-linear, and ephemeral digital sources. It contends that the success of born-digital editions depends on: 1) acknowledging platform influence without attempting full emulation; 2) designing for reader inquiry beyond static remediation; 3) extending standards like TEI to model networks, interactions, and multimodality; and 4) treating publishing design, sustainability, and access as core editorial decisions. The analysis suggests that while book-oriented presentations may remain suitable for analogue sources and valued by readers, they are insufficient for born-digital corpora whose evidence boundaries, context, and interactivity differ fundamentally. Case discussions demonstrate feasible documentation strategies (e.g., traversal recordings) and the necessity of reproducible, resource-conscious models. The significance lies in reframing digital publishing as integral to editing and in proposing extensible, standards-based pathways that can accommodate both analogue and born-digital materials.

The paper contributes a critical assessment of digital scholarly editing’s current focus on digitising analogue sources and outlines requirements for future-ready practices that accommodate born-digital materials. It advocates: extending established standards (notably TEI) to encode inter-relational, platform-shaped structures; accepting impermanence and documenting experiential aspects where emulation is impractical; prioritizing reader-oriented functionalities that enable hypothesis-building; and integrating publishing strategy (interface, sustainability, accessibility) into editorial decision-making. Future research and development should: design and test extensions to standards for multimodal and networked content; build sustainable, open, flexible platforms with analytical capabilities; establish best-practice models for social media and other born-digital corpora (rights, ethics, preservation, contextualization); and systematically explore adjacent frontiers—accessibility, minimal computing, social and mobile editions, and public engagement—to ensure inclusive, durable, and impactful scholarly editions.

This is a theoretical and programmatic essay without empirical datasets or implemented technical frameworks; thus, claims are not validated through deployment or user studies. Case discussions (Curios, Pathfinders) address specific niches (obsolete platforms) and may not generalize across all born-digital genres (e.g., social media at scale). The paper explicitly notes several frontiers not treated in depth (inclusive design, minimal computing, social/mobile editions, public scholarship). Practical issues of rights management, large-scale preservation, and reproducibility are outlined but not resolved with concrete tooling or protocols.