I'm wondering why somebody like the National Archives doesn't put
out a specification for a scratch-resistant, archival quality CD
and DVD?

Or maybe the National Bureau of Standards, and then the Federal
government require the use of conforming CDs and DVDs for
government data storage?

It's absolutely silly how easy it is to scratch these things, and
yet they are the best current format for storing data. We are so
close, but so far away.

With a good long life reflective layer (say gold instead of
aluminum) and a scratch-resistant surface, it would make
archiving a lot more affordable and doable for everyone.

When I read about archiving to magnetic tape, it makes me
shudder.