Thread "Netpocalypse Preppers" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 9:01AM, Jan. 14, 2019

As most of us probably know, the free internet has been under attack from corrupt or out-of-touch politicians and big corporations with agendas. We're going to tip-toe around the politics of the thing and how possible it actually is though, and focus on what we're doing in case something like this actually happens. Because hey, even if it doesn't you never know when you might be forced to spend a week in an interweb-less cabin in the woods. Specifically, what kind of information hoarding you're doing - and keep in mind I'm referring to the legal kind of hoarding, so that Retro Pi full of 10,000+ ROMs you may or may not have sitting in your shelf for emergency 'Netpocalypse purposes need not apply.

Myself, for starters I believe that streaming services like Netflix are driving down the price of DVDs. In a world where the Internet is strictly forbidden, these movies will skyrocket, so I tend to drop in on the cheap $5 and $3.74 bins and pick up a movie even if I just have a passing interest in it. As of right now I have roughly 500 movies between BluRay and digital, though I do need to build up my TV watching for binge watching in my post-Netflix world's bunker.

As far as books go, I've been frequenting Project Gutenberg and downloading books in the EPub format. I don't really know a lot about digital book formats and which ones are the best, but this seemed like the most open source version of an E-reader that wasn't just a plain text or HTML file. Right now I've downloaded almost 1500 books, from selected authors to randos I found with the search engine and main page features; I estimate that my library has roughly 9,800 books on its second floor, which houses all of the books besides large print and children's, so that's kinda been the goal I've set.

Gaming-wise, I've got around 2,600 games between ZZT and MegaZeux, and I've started downloading old DOS games too.

~~THERE IS NO PORN I AM A COMPLETE ANGEL.~~

As far as hardware goes, I'm a bit more sketchy in this area. DVD players are easy enough to come by, and assuming they last for 10 years each I could probably easily hoarde away enough that if one breaks down I'd still have enough to last me a lifetime. I know the Raspberry Pi has its own form of DOSBox, and I don't know how functional Windows would be without the internet. I'm sure any Linux users are more than happy to lend their opinions here…

I suppose if all else fails you could go outside and actually talk to people, but I hear they have cooties.

Posted at 11:01AM, Jan. 16, 2019

hhah i have done the same. Started years ago actually. Instead of Guttenberg I bought second hand books by the fist full. Same with Dvds. Then along came Netflicks and Amazon Prime. Saved me taking the cellophane off and or switching out discs. The books are ones I want to read. Unlike in previous years where I collected everything by author. What I saved, I paid out in shelving.
This would not have happened if drinking at the pub was reasonably priced

Did you mention the gigabites of comics available for download

Posted at 7:01PM, Jan. 16, 2019

Are you a prepper or a digital hoarder? :D

Posted at 3:01AM, Jan. 17, 2019

I have learned to thread newspapers into small squares.
Probably lean towards prepping

Posted at 4:01PM, Jan. 17, 2019

ozoneocean wrote:
Are you a prepper or a digital hoarder? :D

Either/or :P The book thing started when I was thinking about how cool it would be to fit the contents of an entire public library into a device smaller than a dime.

Posted at 2:01AM, Jan. 18, 2019

I hear one can theoretically do the same thing with the gnp of entire nations - as long as there's access to electricity.
Speaking of books – I loved the film currently on Netflix – 'The Bookshop'

Posted at 6:01AM, Jan. 18, 2019

I renewed my library card. I retain my pre internet research skills. And I still have VHS and audio cassette players.

I still might have an electric typewriter in storage and can read and write cursive.

Netpocalypse won't be the problem so much as the electro magnetic pulse that will fry all unhardened electronics like 99% of all consumer stuff. No net? No phones except landlines.

Posted at 7:01AM, Jan. 18, 2019

Ahhh! the fragrance of fried crypto shedding its fraudulent scent, I think Im going to swoon.