To make Cursor No. 1 more practical, I adapted it:
this version (“v1”) starts out as the original, with a trail covering the information of the respective page or post or dataset and hence disturbing the user in their research – in order to make them aware of the bias, silences, distortions in the data and of their own agency.

But for the sake of usability, in this version, the trail-effect stops after 15 seconds – and morphs into a semi-translucent light blue dot. That way, users can proceed with their research, while being reminded of the original effect at the same time.

As for the design of the cursor:
the light blue mimicks the traditional color pencils archivists used to use. They are also known as “non-photo pencils”, because you can annotate documents, but the notes won’t show up on photocopies.

This aspect was important when creating the cursor: it won’t interfere with the actual data and your results – they remain untouched, the practicality of the database stays intact.