< The hopeful thing about the Internet...

~owleyarc

I have to assume someone has hit you with readdesert.org at some point.

Setting aside the question of the internet's harms, though I think there's an interesting discussion to be had around how much of it is actually cause by the internet vs the internet being a coping mechanism for loneliness.

I think we'll have the internet in some form or another for our current lifetime. Our current growth isn't going to be sustainable, of course. And we'll see further geopolitical splintering of the internet. But if nothing else, we'll have some form of data transfer like the internet, even if it's just a sneakernet like people in Cuba used to use. IMO, the more pertinent question: in a resource-constrained environment, do we want to maintain the constantly connected lifestyle? And if not, what do we want to scale it back to? Internet only on computers? Only at libraries? Thumb drives stuck in a brick wall?

Any sort of change brings new possibilities.

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~tffb wrote:

Wow, that book looks like a powerhouse of likely truths albeit speculation on specifics of what could/will happen is just that - speculation.

I may read it though. And thank you.

I always loved the Sneakernet form factor of information sharing. The ecological impact is no more dangerous than the chunks of plastic the flash drive are printed on (still, issues there - use metal?) but I think a Sneakernet is a flawed approach to an Internet replacement. The fact that everything is THERE (online) and one-click-search away is why people are willing to go down clickholes - external consorted effort to share physical media (even if digitized info on a physical thumb drive) would (I assume) be disregarded as not worth *most* people's time (it would be worth mine).

Anyhow, I heard of how there is/was a widespread Sneakernet in Cuba, and that microcomputers were/are used for a sort of widespread Intranet, and that even lo-fi/indie ISPs have been formed, and it's just as simple to make/use a system like that anywhere, though there's a 1000% chance that a Sneakernet system would not be looked at as long as we have (fast!) datacenters and instantaneous gratification. And, because....obviously! Haha

It, bad consequence from climate change, is inevitable though. The difference being between that of looking beyond the tip of ones nose, and looking at a square/realistic reality of how bad ecosystems have become and what is in the years ahead. I don't patronize the "rally change to fight climate change" narrative, because if people have a f*** about their lives and those here in the future, they'd be putting a fair amount of time/effort into at the very least COMING TO TERMS with how bad things are now. Currently.

Anyway, the WWW and consumer tech will play a tiny role in any of it. Be it a Sneakernet or anything else - it would fall very low on a priority list.

Hope all are well.

Later,

T