In general, transparent, non-proprietary formats are best. When a proprietary format is submitted to the archive (such as a Microsoft Word document) an accompanying plain text file is also required. It is assumed that the scientists of the future will at least be able to make sense of regular ASCII bytes even if the proprietary software and support ceases to exist.
This passage advocates for using open formats like plain text files to ensure long-term accessibility of data, even if the original software or format becomes obsolete. It emphasizes the importance of preserving information in a way that can be understood by future generations.