Actually, the old documents are still useful for those operating under the older rules. I don't think CPF should take everything or even very much down. However, stamping older documents with "Historical Version from the CPF Archives" should address this problem. Also, something like this would be nice going forward:
CPF Hypothetical said:
CPF Publication No. XYZ123-21
Version 2.1
December 18, 2018
CPF's plans may change, but CPF plans to update this publication approximately annually. You can always find the latest version of this publication at CPF's Web site.
For reference, you can find
every version of the famous "Form 1040" (U.S. Internal Revenue Service personal income tax form) at the IRS's Web site if you look hard enough, and stretching back a century. Those ancient 1040 forms are really interesting and useful to academics, researchers, and others. Here's the link to IRS Form 1040 for 1913, 1914, and 1915:
Oldest Form 1040. And it's not just a scanned copy of that ancient form; it's actually been properly rendered in PDF, and it's keyword searchable. Kudos to the IRS's archivist!
One aspect of government I don't find appealing is the "memory hole" effect, when the government buries historical documents and publications. A critical part of having an open, democratic government is maintaining access to historical knowledge, including government knowledge. Then the public can constructively help government improve and to avoid repeating past mistakes. That's all to the good.
