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Define internet here. Having recently had a week long internet outage I can say quite confidently, nothing really. The things that caused me massive anxiety d

by jpc0 2y ago

Define internet here. Having recently had a week long internet outage I can say quite confidently, nothing really. The things that caused me massive anxiety during that outage was things that are real time. No communication, since all my communication is through VOIP services of some sort, even mobile calls might be down depending on how you define internet. And no banking at all, my bank doesn't even have physical branches and most banks in my country have gone that way, even going to a physical branch for one of the larger incumbent banks they just put you on a call with their call center, they cannot help you locally. The tellers and just fancy ATMs and they charge you a premium to use them instead of the ATM outside. If you thing that wont be an issue, well the internet is down, that local branch is useless. There's still many cash based business so that's less of an issue for me but we will definitely have pandemic level panic again. I mean during the pandemic people bought all the toilet paper here, not the food but the toilet paper... Online media will be the least of your problems and large swaths of that information is available and backed up at libraries around the world. Likewise if only the network is down the servers still exist so the data didn't go away. Also if Y2K taught us anything is that we will solve the problem relatively quickly and even if what we currently know as the internet fails a different form of the internet will be back up soon enough.

SoftTalker 2y ago
Agree. If we could time-travel back to 1985 then fine, I would miss very little about the modern internet. If the internet were to just suddenly "go down" globally it would of course be a disaster and result in much unrest, panic, supply chain breakdowns, and general collapse of society. It it so interwoven into everything we depend on.
- toofy 2y ago
  the real horror would be if it were to happen in 20 years or so, if it were to happen in the near future we still have people around who remember how things were done before computers. society would end. some bumpy roads, sure, but we did very well before the internet and we’d do fine without it. we would just rebuild. it’s just not as instrumental as some people make it out to be. nice? absofuckinlutely. necessary? nopes.
oceanplexian 2y ago
It’s weird that we are in the minority (I guess I’m not shocked since this is HN). Very little on the Internet is useful for survival in an Internet down scenario. And if the Internet is gone, we must have far bigger problems. Libraries are going to be far more useful, and books don’t require electricity. I grew up in a place with lots of power outages and the main thing you are worried about is having hot water for a bath or a being able to cook a meal. Tangential thought but we should probably work hard to preserve libraries in the future. Real ones, with books. They are really unmatched when it comes to longevity and safeguarding information in a way that computers cannot replicate.
- Asraelite 2y ago
  > They are really unmatched when it comes to longevity and safeguarding information in a way that computers cannot replicate. How so? There are long-term digital storage technologies that would long outlast any book and are many orders of magnitude denser.
  - qskousen 2y ago
    The only requirements for reading a physical book is that you know how to read and can turn pages. If it's digital storage, you have to have electricity, a compatible device, an understanding of the storage, and software that can read it.
    - freedomben 2y ago
      > If it's digital storage, you have to have electricity, a compatible device, an understanding of the storage, and software that can read it. And, increasingly, DRM servers that will allow you to read it.
  - b112 2y ago
    No there is not. What do you mean! Nothing has been verified to work beyond 50 years, and those with data errors and failure rates. There are those CDs made out of rock, but they have never veen proven to pass the test of time.

by jpc0 2y ago

SoftTalker 2y ago

Agree. If we could time-travel back to 1985 then fine, I would miss very little about the modern internet. If the internet were to just suddenly "go down" globally it would of course be a disaster and result in much unrest, panic, supply chain breakdowns, and general collapse of society. It it so interwoven into everything we depend on.

toofy 2y ago
the real horror would be if it were to happen in 20 years or so, if it were to happen in the near future we still have people around who remember how things were done before computers. society would end. some bumpy roads, sure, but we did very well before the internet and we’d do fine without it. we would just rebuild. it’s just not as instrumental as some people make it out to be. nice? absofuckinlutely. necessary? nopes.

oceanplexian 2y ago

It’s weird that we are in the minority (I guess I’m not shocked since this is HN). Very little on the Internet is useful for survival in an Internet down scenario. And if the Internet is gone, we must have far bigger problems. Libraries are going to be far more useful, and books don’t require electricity. I grew up in a place with lots of power outages and the main thing you are worried about is having hot water for a bath or a being able to cook a meal. Tangential thought but we should probably work hard to preserve libraries in the future. Real ones, with books. They are really unmatched when it comes to longevity and safeguarding information in a way that computers cannot replicate.

Asraelite 2y ago
> They are really unmatched when it comes to longevity and safeguarding information in a way that computers cannot replicate. How so? There are long-term digital storage technologies that would long outlast any book and are many orders of magnitude denser.
- qskousen 2y ago
  The only requirements for reading a physical book is that you know how to read and can turn pages. If it's digital storage, you have to have electricity, a compatible device, an understanding of the storage, and software that can read it.
  - freedomben 2y ago
    > If it's digital storage, you have to have electricity, a compatible device, an understanding of the storage, and software that can read it. And, increasingly, DRM servers that will allow you to read it.
- b112 2y ago
  No there is not. What do you mean! Nothing has been verified to work beyond 50 years, and those with data errors and failure rates. There are those CDs made out of rock, but they have never veen proven to pass the test of time.