Hbomlást

Hbomlást is a neologism used in discussions of digital preservation to denote the gradual degradation of stored information over time. It encompasses physical media decay, data corruption, and the loss of contextual metadata or interpretive fidelity that can accompany long-term archives. In practice, hbomlást serves as both a metaphor and a technical concern for archivists and researchers who aim to understand why preserved data may become less usable even when no single copy has completely failed.

Etymology: The word appears to be a coined blend drawing on the Hungarian bomlás, meaning decay, with an initial "hb-" prefix added for emphasis. Its precise origin is uncertain, but it has circulated mainly in online discussions about archival practice and information theory since the late 2010s.

Usage and scope: Hbomlást is applied when discussing strategies to mitigate loss, such as redundant storage, format migration, robust metadata, and provenance tracking. It is also used in debates about emulation, data integrity checks, and the balance between preservation depth and practical access.

Reception: Some scholars view hbomlást as a useful heuristic for highlighting hidden losses in long-term preservation, while others caution that it risks oversimplifying diverse failure modes. It remains a relatively niche term within specialized communities.

See also: bit rot, data decay, digital preservation, archival science.