Looking back at ten years analysing free an open source distributions, we take a step back and analyse what made this kind of research possible. Availability, traceability and uniformity of the software code base arise as key factors, and they are also essential properties needed for reproducibility and preservation. This is why we are starting a new project to make sure these properties will be ensured for all software, and not only well structured ecosystems like Debian. At the end, a call for action to the scientific community to contribute to the project.