What if the internet was turned off ?

[jmore9]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?

Who would purchase a bird to carry their info ?

What would you do ?

[hoppipolla]

even I've had too much of these "What if?" threads now! hehe

I dunno though man, I think I would just go outside more lol

[PetruM]

I'd actually like the idea of turning off the Internet for a while, since most of us aren't capable to turn it off ourselves and do something else. I'd probably spend more on books and I'd get distracted less often from my work and studies. :P

[samh785]

Lol, I think we'd have a sudden spike in suicide rates. The sad part is that is probably true. :-\"

[coldReactive]

I would sleep and play my disc-based PS3 games.

[Hosmion]

Since we have no way of turning it back on, we would just adapt to it I guess... When it came back, instead of 1 million threads, we were spiked up to 5 million.

[lovinglinux]

I dunno though man, I think I would just go outside more lol

There are germs outside :)

[Giant Speck]

The world would be a better place.

[beercz]

I would probably go out of business!

[tom66]

I would go outside.

[Cuddles McKitten]

I would probably go out of business!

I'd lose a lot of money, as well... and not get information easily if at all.

[RichardLinx]

First, I would view every page in my cache. Then I would view them all again. Two days would pass and I'd have gotten tired of viewing old web pages I'd already viewed. So I would move on and start having conversations with my self, extreme withdrawals would start at this point.

Four days in I would have bought or caught a bird and begun training it to deliver mail for me, this would entertain me for a few hours before realizing it's entirely pointless.

To avoid riots in the streets I would stay indoors and play video games for the next two days. By the end of the week I would probably just decide to go outside and actually do "stuff" for the next few weeks. Yeah.

I could probably last a few extra hours by playing pokemon DS though, the game is made of win.

[hal10000]

For those who did'nt know: You can turn off the internet here: http://www.turnofftheinternet.com/

[The Toxic Mite]

Go on a four-week tour of Germany

[RichardLinx]

For those who did'nt know: You can turn off the internet here: http://www.turnofftheinternet.com/

Firefox pop-up blocker prevents such events from occurring. ;)

[Bölvaður]

I would do what everyone else would do... pack few pants, a pair of trousers, few shirts and socks in a bag and travel the the country that is closest to me.

[RichardLinx]

I would do what everyone else would do... pack few pants, a pair of trousers, few shirts and socks in a bag and travel the the country that is closest to me.

My bikes broken and without the internet I wouldn't be able to get instructions on how to fix it. I wouldn't want to travel by any other means. (A bicycle on the moon is the best way to travel, trust me). Not to mention that without the Internet I wouldn't have a very reliable map.

And a bike shop? Again, without the internet I'd have a hard time finding one.

I think we need to face the fact that without Internet the Universe would implode. There was nothing before the Internet, nothing I say!

[LoloftheRings]

I would buy a few miles of lan cable, connect my local network to my friends' network and play games until the internet is working again.

[RichardLinx]

I would buy a few miles of lan cable, connect my local network to my friends' network and play games until the internet is working again.

Maybe the whole world would follow your lead and we'd have the internet again in no time.

[lukjad]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?

Who would purchase a bird to carry their info ?

What would you do ?
Hmmm. Well, I'd be outside a lot more, but for a different reason than you think. First, I'd go to the store and start buying massive amounts of lumber, hammers, nails, metal and fiber-optic cable. Then I would acquire the needed construction permits and begin to lay down cable to neighbouring houses so we could at least get some filesharing going on. Then I would contact by phone, or by dial up and coordinate with other geeks and hackers around the country to connect our new network. I'd probably have starcraftman connect his network with mine since we live in adjoining cities, then eventually we would be able to connect to Ontario. Then I'd cut across to Thunder Bay, then to Regina and Saskatoon. Then on to Edmonton, and Calgary. For the US part, I would start off with Vermont. From Vermont, we would expand to New York City. From New York, we'd have an access point in Pittsburgh, then Ohio, then Kentucky. I'd send one up to Flint, Michigan, and one to Nashville, Tennessee, and one to Atlanta, Georgia. From there, I would let other people take it up, extending it as they see fit. I would return home to set up the wireless connection to Europe. Each location in Canada would have a Wireless Access Point which can be picked up and extended so that the outlying regions could have access to at least a certain amount of the network. Then I would make a name for it...


007 Connection
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/3962/northamerica98copy4.th.png (http://img202.imageshack.us/i/northamerica98copy4.png/)


If anyone wants the very, very large high definition version, perhaps to updated it and add where they would link to, feel free to contact me.

[zmjjmz]

I'd read all of the books I've downloaded.

[Firestem4]

I'd probably cry for the first few hours. May finish the library of books ive amassed and finished reading..Go to the bank and tell them to shut off my MMO subscriptions because i can't access them anymore, and go ask the south park kids if they know how to fix the internet.



My bikes broken and without the internet I wouldn't be able to get instructions on how to fix it. I wouldn't want to travel by any other means. (A bicycle on the moon is the best way to travel, trust me). Not to mention that without the Internet I wouldn't have a very reliable map.

And a bike shop? Again, without the internet I'd have a hard time finding one.


Install marble and cache every part of the world available on all maps at all Map-levels (heights)...you'll have a good map +)

They even have a Bike-Route map for bicyclists.

[Mateo]

start my own underground darknet and price gouge my customers.

[Groucho Marxist]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?

Who would purchase a bird to carry their info ?

What would you do ?

I'd head to Californ'e, since thair's no Internet 'round here.

[amingv]

I would buy a few miles of lan cable, connect my local network to my friends' network and play games until the internet is working again.

Nothing would come out of the other side. The signal would be lost to the resistance of the cable.

I would cry myself to sleep every night and start burning old PC equipment for warmth.
I might get my stuff together sometime and make a small LAN, some virus (on the wild) and maybe even a telemarketing/spam server.

[linux-hack]

I'd actually like the idea of turning off the Internet for a while, since most of us aren't capable to turn it off ourselves and do something else. I'd probably spend more on books and I'd get distracted less often from my work and studies. :P

i think the same thing .. and by the way im romanian to ??? (si eu sunt roman danr stau in elvetia)

[chris200x9]

I'd head to Californ'e, since thair's no Internet 'round here.

dammit beat me to it! "No brazillian fart porn" :O :(

[ninjapirate89]

I would probably sit and stare at an empty monitor until it comes back on.

[lukjad]

Nothing would come out of the other side. The signal would be lost to the resistance of the cable.

I would cry myself to sleep every night and start burning old PC equipment for warmth.
I might get my stuff together sometime and make a small LAN, some virus (on the wild) and maybe even a telemarketing/spam server.
I notice everyone is ignoring MY much more detailed post. ;)

[misfitpierce]

I would start my own internet! I would figure out how to do so... If I couldn't then I would prob kill someone... Need the internet to survive :P

[forrestcupp]

If it's only 4 weeks, I'll be ok. But if it's indefinitely, that would suck because my savings account is an internet only account.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

If the government shut down the internet then I'd open up a can of whoop ***, that's what.

[tc3000]

Which Government? World-wide?

[Morty007]

This was a Southpark episode called "Overlogging" and it was absolutely hysterical. They had to go to an internet camp where each person only had 40 seconds of internet time.

Oh yes, and according to the southpark episode some people would be unable to masturbate anymore.


See it here http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/166179/

[Ravernomina]

More or less Chaos would go every ware take the G20 try that in almost every city. From protesters arguing about how it was a "right" and the Internet is the Publics control. And i think some hacker can get in. you can only turn the main "hub" in America off. if the globe did it almost EVERYTHING that has networking would die. Also a lot of businesses would go down as well. and plus you could not order Linux CD's!!!! O:!!. So this is all just one bad thing if it did

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

Which Government? World-wide?
I don't know if that's a question for me or for the OP. He said something about the Government shutting it down. I live in the states, but regardless of what country I lived in, if my government shut it down then I'd be pissed.

[Sam]

Just reset that thing...

http://mercenario.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/screen-grabs-linksys-internet.jpg

;)

[coldReactive]

Just reset that thing...

;)

*slaps for use of south park*

[dbyjazz]

move to somewhere where they have internet. Like Japan.

[rs_man]

I would get on with my life, although I work in IT so it may cause a few problems. If it went out right now, I'd read a book and finish my laundry... :P

[-grubby]

You got the bird thing, and the entire idea, from http://www.cracked.com/photoshop_90_the-world-tomorrow-if-internet-disappeared-today/ .

[Exodist]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?

Who would purchase a bird to carry their info ?

What would you do ?

WOOT.. Back to BBS basics!!

[admelfo]

It would be a little inconvenient, and that's it. Overall, it would be a good thing. We ought to do it for a year.

We'd save a ton of energy -- human and otherwise -- that is totally wasted.

Might start a new baby boom, too.

[Dimitriid]

I'd lose my job, most call centers work on voip nowadays. ISPs wouldn't be too happy either I suspect.

[murderslastcrow]

To be honest, it would be very relaxing. Except that I need it to send my work to my clients. But since I have enough in savings, it would be awesome. For how much I love computers, I certainly do hate technology sometimes. XD

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

To the people that think it would be a good idea...why don't you just not use the internet then?

[coldReactive]

To the people that think it would be a good idea...why don't you just not use the internet then?

Because, we are entitled to our opinions. We can't just take over television and start voicing our opinions.

[Warren Watts]

WOOT.. Back to BBS basics!!

Sometimes I miss the Good-Old-Days of the BBS....

As a teenager, I ran a late night only BBS from my parent's home phone number called "Midnight BBS" from 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM. The whole BBS ran on my Atari 1040ST with a 20MB (yes, MB) SCSI hard drive.

The BBS started with a 300 baud modem and I later upgraded to a 1200 baud modem! Woo Hoo! I was cooking with heat!

[Lupi]

Some guys would probably go out more and even get laid.

[lethalfang]

It would be a little inconvenient, and that's it. Overall, it would be a good thing. We ought to do it for a year.

We'd save a ton of energy -- human and otherwise -- that is totally wasted.

Might start a new baby boom, too.

There is no better way to save energy than to be able to communicate with everyone else in the world without having to drag their 150-lb bodies (on average) across the globe. We save the resources needed to transport communication. We do it faster, better, more accurately, and much cheaper with the internet.
Internet is the greatest invention since electricity itself.
Electricity is the greatest invention since the great aqueducts and city sewage systems popularized by the Romans.

[Firestem4]

Some guys would probably go out more and even get laid.

...what is this outside you speak of?:P

[lethalfang]

It would be a little inconvenient, and that's it. Overall, it would be a good thing. We ought to do it for a year.

We'd save a ton of energy -- human and otherwise -- that is totally wasted.

Might start a new baby boom, too.

There is no better way to save energy than to be able to communicate with everyone else in the world without having to drag their 150-lb bodies (on average) across the globe.
Internet is the greatest invention since electricity itself.
Electricity is the greatest invention since the great aqueducts and city sewage systems popularized by the Romans, which is the greatest invention since mankind has learned how to start a fire.

[j7%<RmUg]

Id probably just spam click refresh for 4 weeks in the hope that the internet wasnt really turned off for 4 weeks.

[Tipped OuT]

Then the world would end as we know it.

[admelfo]

Well put. But, the aqueducts and sewage systems were the greatest inventions since what?

And - what about the baby boom?

Peace.

[amingv]

I notice everyone is ignoring MY much more detailed post. ;)

Oh, no. I just decided not to criticize it. :)
It may have a couple flaws, but I like fiber optic too much to beat on it.

[Exodist]

Sometimes I miss the Good-Old-Days of the BBS....

As a teenager, I ran a late night only BBS from my parent's home phone number called "Midnight BBS" from 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM. The whole BBS ran on my Atari 1040ST with a 20MB (yes, MB) SCSI hard drive.

The BBS started with a 300 baud modem and I later upgraded to a 1200 baud modem! Woo Hoo! I was cooking with heat!

That sounds awesome. My uncle had a BBS I help manage called "The Jungle" BBS. We had it running on a Tandy1000 TL3, I think it had a 30MB drive or something close. I remember it was slightly better over all system then my TL2 that had a 10MB HDD. He had his phone setup to notice the difference in a modem call or a normal dial from someone else. It was neat tho.. He had a Wange 2400bps modem on it.

Strange as it sounds I really miss the good ole days as sometimes I think they was more fun.

[madhi19]

Peoples will go on a Postal rampage! The four horsemen will ride again there will be massive orgy in the street! Or we just restart the good old BBS and use that as the backbone for a new Net!

[djyoung4]

Go on a four-week tour of Germany

I hope you live somewhere near there because if you gotta fly there how are you gonna buy your plane ticket. I don't think i know where a (i dont even know what the word is any more for someone who plans trips). dang im dependent on the internet

[coldReactive]

I hope you live somewhere near there because if you gotta fly there how are you gonna buy your plane ticket. I don't think i know where a (i dont even know what the word is any more for someone who plans trips). dang im dependent on the internet

The olden days allows you just to get a plane ticket from the airport. Can't that still be done? o_O

[steveneddy]

I live on the road and rely on the internet for communication with the home office, friends and family, paying bills, checking on orders/customers and entertainment.

I would probably lose my mind. Or maybe loose my mind, depending of the day of the week.

[madhi19]

The olden days allows you just to get a plane ticket from the airport. Can't that still be done? o_O Yeah but they probably cavity search you if you try paying cash!

[coldReactive]

Yeah but they probably cavity search you if you try paying cash!

But that's how I pay for almost everything (including computers o_O)

[magh-87]

Four weeks? Painful but manageable. I just got my internet back this week after going without since August.

My secret?

Watching a crap load of the stuff I downloaded before I lost the internet!

[djyoung4]

The olden days allows you just to get a plane ticket from the airport. Can't that still be done? o_O

didn't even think of that but i have never bought a plane ticket any place other then online

[CJ Master]

Because, we are entitled to our opinions. We can't just take over television and start voicing our opinions.

I believe he was saying that if you'd prefer there to be no internet, why not just not use it? I don't see what was offensive about his comment.

[coldReactive]

I believe he was saying that if you'd prefer there to be no internet, why not just not use it? I don't see what was offensive about his comment.

Anything can be taken in any way.

[lethalfang]

I believe he was saying that if you'd prefer there to be no internet, why not just not use it? I don't see what was offensive about his comment.

Hypocrites are offended when called out.

[kpholmes]

There are germs outside :)

hahaha.

i would make a mock internet on my intranet, just to get my fix.

[madhi19]

But that's how I pay for almost everything (including computers o_O)
In the good old day (pre-2001) you could walk in the airport, buy a ticket 20 minutes before a flight and pay cash and you be fine. No security check too so you can forget about boarding that plane anyway! And no Internet mean no credit card and No ATM or bank can't open too! What do you think they use to network all the hardwares that provide these services?

So if the whole net went down hard for four weeks you probably have to rely on the cash you have on you, the gas in your car and the food you have stored at home. My theory about peoples going Postal is not so far fetch after all!

[handy]

I'd go travelling, camping, get some more vitamin D.

Basically have a healthier & more interesting time than I have with it turned on...

[ukripper]

Personally, I think most people who would be affected adversely by switched off internet would be online social networking users (such as Facebook, twitter etc.). I am a strong supporter of face to face interaction rather relying behind the screen just to make new friends. Online Social networking has no use to me, I find them as a major hinderance in development of people skills among our new generation and younger generations. That is my personal opinion, I know some of you may disagree with me.

[coolbrook]

Telephones, print journalism, television, radio and the local library will return to prominence. Those who didn't embrace the mobile phone would change their tune pretty quickly. If they did turn off the internet, then I imagine that new technology at the movie theatre would become another outlet for interactivity. There are also those who play games online. They'd have to meet up with friends to play with other humans.

[RichardLinx]

Reading through many peoples posts and opinions, it sounds like there would be so many benefits but also many downsides to each benefit.

After reading through many of the posts here I'm some what inspired to cut back on Internet use and actually do some of these things. I remember a LAN party being so much better then just playing games online with a Mic. It's just a lan party is also a lot more work.

Not to mention the fact that now days society wouldn't function properly without the internet.

But why can't people do all the things they've mentioned even when there is an Internet? You don't need the internet to go camping, surely? This settles it; Internet addiction is real!

[handy]

...
But why can't people do all the things they've mentioned even when there is an Internet? You don't need the internet to go camping, surely? This settles it; Internet addiction is real!

Because we are lazy.

It is easier to sit down & type than it is to go pack all the camping gear, drive to the location, unpack & setup the camp site. Do the camping thing, then pack it all up, stuff it in the car, drive back home, unpack it, clean it & whatever else (hopefully not have to dry it out too)... & on it goes.

The internet is for lazy (or physically handicapped in some fashion) people that live in their heads. ):P

[djyoung4]

In the good old day (pre-2001) you could walk in the airport, buy a ticket 20 minutes before a flight and pay cash and you be fine. No security check too so you can forget about boarding that plane anyway! And no Internet mean no credit card and No ATM or bank can't open too! What do you think they use to network all the hardwares that provide these services?

So if the whole net went down hard for four weeks you probably have to rely on the cash you have on you, the gas in your car and the food you have stored at home. My theory about peoples going Postal is not so far fetch after all!

yep the world would go crazy. people would go crazy and the money in your pocket would be worthless. it would be survival of the fittest.

[guriinii]

I'd die!

[t0p]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?


So which government can do that? If you don't live in China or certain Middle-Eastern countries: none. Even if you do live in those places, there are ways and means to circumvent the controls.

I know this is just a "what if" thread. But its wording reveals the OP to be... ignorant.

[plurworldinc]

Wow 4 weeks is a very long time to go with out the net, I would would be in such a case of withdraw, it would be tragic. On the other hand I would try to use that time enjoy the great outdoors with my family and friends. I would still spend a great amount of time in front of my computer working on endless off line projects.

[Pasdar]

What if the government turned off the internet for a 4 week period , how many would go through withdrawal ?

Who would purchase a bird to carry their info ?

What would you do ?

I was permanently banned by my first ISP for I quote "hacking activities". It was only until a year after that I had internet again. (they had internet monopoly back then)

It was annoying to say the least, going from many hours of internet, morning to night to nothing at all... thats how much i used to internet back then.

[doas777]

if the Internet was turned off, I think we would have bigger worries than being bored.

[t0p]

I was permanently banned by my first ISP for I quote "hacking activities". It was only until a year after that I had internet again. (they had internet monopoly back then)

It was annoying to say the least, going from many hours of internet, morning to night to nothing at all... thats how much i used to internet back then.

Couldn't you have just asked them to connect you, claiming to be someone else? Like: "Hey, I just moved in at this address. That 3v1l h4x0r doesn't live here any more. Can I have some internet please so I can do l33t stuph^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbrowse and so forth?"

I bet you coulda.

[CherylMPaine]

... a LOT of people would be sitting in their basements watching re-runs of the original Star Trek series! I would! :p On black and white TVs.

[johnboy1313]

i think if the internet turned off it would be the end of the world as we know it

[sim-value]

Connect to it over Sattelite
Oh and btw:
No internet means:
No Creditcards
No banking whatsoever
No ubuntu updates :D
No wanting to go to bed at 9 and still be up at 10:45

[Rambar]

No wanting to go to bed at 9 and still be up at 10:45
YES! That happens to me too! I always want to go to bed at 11:30 and stay up until 00:45.

[Warpnow]

I'd run a server for my neighborhood, run an intranet software with a forum and wiki, and get as many neighborhoods to participate as possible.

[MorphingDragon]

No Moar Linux! :(