Most of that effort to archive games is not IA. It is from 2 other groups who sometimes work with IA if they all are not fighting. Specifically one group is the one going through all of them and configuring them to work correctly in DOSBox. Another is just going through and just cataloging them. Getting the metadata on that stuff is kind of tough now. Like what was the exact date a game came out on? Does it have artwork still? Is there some odd protection scheme going on? Is there an IMG file for the disks? Or is it just some random pile of files? Can you get a copy from ebay? etc etc etc. IA typically notes who is doing the archive work. IA also respects takedown notices for these games. As many of them sort of came back from the dead and are sold again, or the company just does not want its IP on some random site. A good portion though no one really knows who owns them anymore. Some have clear lineage. Some have been sold over and over to random companies and depending on contracts no one knows.
That 'scene' is also full of drama and very insular. Donate to IA to help them build better infrastructure and better search. But donating because they host old abandoned DOS games I would not call a good reason, and misplaced. Because the people doing the majority of the work are doing it because they like it, not money. IA does have some work around that such as getting dosbox and mame running in a browser. Just be clear on what you are donating to.
That 'scene' is also full of drama and very insular. Donate to IA to help them build better infrastructure and better search. But donating because they host old abandoned DOS games I would not call a good reason, and misplaced. Because the people doing the majority of the work are doing it because they like it, not money. IA does have some work around that such as getting dosbox and mame running in a browser. Just be clear on what you are donating to.