The Nullibyte: A Foundational Thesis on the Lost Artifacts of the Digital Past

Abstract The foundational thesis defines the "Nullibyte" as the artifact of absence. Representing the "missing persons report" of the digital archive, the Nullibyte classifies artifacts known to have existed but currently reside beyond the horizon of recoverability (lost, deleted, or degraded). The work distinguishes between "Provisional Nullibytes" (recoverable loss) and "Permanent Nullibytes" (true extinction), establishes a taxonomy of loss (Media, Platform, and Ephemeral Nullibytes), and argues that the Nullibyte serves a critical function as "monument" by memorializing the voids in the digital record. Keywords: The Nullibyte, Nullibyte, Archaeobytology, Digital Archaeology, Digital Artifacts, Media Archaeology, Digital Loss, Bit Rot, Digital Extinction