This is some really long winded post about digital preservation on original cuts (eg: star wars, dollars trilogy, etc...). This is nothing new at all, this type of thing has been going on since lucas fucked with star wars. If you are really into this kinda thing, give it a read. If not, maybe skim it, it's really long and pretty dry.

why does this read like cypher code for law enforcement?

So, what version do I download then?