3 ms·

This internet outage looks like it affects 22 countries (some more than others) and covers a much more expansive area. I don't mean to detract from the tragedy

This internet outage looks like it affects 22 countries (some more than others) and covers a much more expansive area. I don't mean to detract from the tragedy in Puerto Rico but these events aren't comparable because their causes are completely different.

dschuetz 9y ago
I disagree. No power for months is quite a bit worse than 2 days without the Internet, no matter what the scale or the cause is. 100k people without power is far worse than 100k or 1M without Internet. On the scale of Internet outages, I agree, it's a whopper. Potentially affecting two dozens of African countries even just for 2 days is a big deal. It's still less important than several hundreds of thousands of people not having power for months. Which is reeeaaally bad. It blows my mind, actually, that such a thing is even possible on US territory.
- RightMillennial 9y ago
  I didn't mean this internet outage is worse than the Puerto Rico situation. That's why I said they're not comparable. The expanse of the internet outage is simply what makes it news worthy.
  - Spare_account 9y ago
    Also the novelty, it is a recent event. Puerto Rico's event has been happening for a while and is therefore less likely to be headline news.
    - rovr138 9y ago
      It's still hard back in PR. They're showing Power generation and usage statistics. They're not showing how many houses/businesses are really up. While things are better, they're not great. My mom is leaving her house open and our family further away and people she know that they can show up and load the washer and dryer. My grandpa brought his washer from his house. So that's 2 washers, 1 dryer running almost all day long. She's spending almost $200 more a month in power than she used to. So Percent of Power Generation or Percent of Power Usage != Percent of People connected.
dotancohen 9y ago
For what it's worth, this is the first that I've heard of the Puerto Rico power outage. Interestingly, though, as an Israeli I already know that the "news" is designed to capture eyeballs and not designed to convey information. I know Africans who work online, this is potentially going to ruin them financially. However, having no power for months in a modern nation could potentially cost lives. Yet, no mention.

dschuetz 9y ago

I disagree. No power for months is quite a bit worse than 2 days without the Internet, no matter what the scale or the cause is. 100k people without power is far worse than 100k or 1M without Internet. On the scale of Internet outages, I agree, it's a whopper. Potentially affecting two dozens of African countries even just for 2 days is a big deal. It's still less important than several hundreds of thousands of people not having power for months. Which is reeeaaally bad. It blows my mind, actually, that such a thing is even possible on US territory.

RightMillennial 9y ago
I didn't mean this internet outage is worse than the Puerto Rico situation. That's why I said they're not comparable. The expanse of the internet outage is simply what makes it news worthy.
- Spare_account 9y ago
  Also the novelty, it is a recent event. Puerto Rico's event has been happening for a while and is therefore less likely to be headline news.
  - rovr138 9y ago
    It's still hard back in PR. They're showing Power generation and usage statistics. They're not showing how many houses/businesses are really up. While things are better, they're not great. My mom is leaving her house open and our family further away and people she know that they can show up and load the washer and dryer. My grandpa brought his washer from his house. So that's 2 washers, 1 dryer running almost all day long. She's spending almost $200 more a month in power than she used to. So Percent of Power Generation or Percent of Power Usage != Percent of People connected.

dotancohen 9y ago

For what it's worth, this is the first that I've heard of the Puerto Rico power outage. Interestingly, though, as an Israeli I already know that the "news" is designed to capture eyeballs and not designed to convey information. I know Africans who work online, this is potentially going to ruin them financially. However, having no power for months in a modern nation could potentially cost lives. Yet, no mention.