Sorry to interrupt the regular proceedings here with an off-topic post, but I have just discovered the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen: A bunch of Redditors are talking about getting their own motherfucking island! Reddit Island! Where they will live, and farm algae, and give each other massages, and all the other things you do on an island of your own.
Naturally, the discussion is extremely Reddit-tastic. Here, after one Redditor says he may have found them a perfect island, PlutoISaPlanet asks the obvious question:
girls? are there girls there?
You need to read the entire discussion that follows, which will also help to explain why they may have trouble getting girls to sign up.
Bludstone, meanwhile, raises some practical questions:
As there is -still- no reddit island business plan, there is no real reason to be looking for physical islands yet. We need a comprehensive mathematical analysis on how to make a profitable (or at least sustainable) island living.
And ive said that since day 1.
Later in the discussion – which you also need to read in its entirety — he accuses his fellow Reddit Island enthusiasts of being a bunch of unserious dabblers in the fine art of island-utopia-making:
You need a comprehensive plan, contracts vetted by lawyers on both sides, etc.
Honestly this whole project has screamed AMATEURS from the start. Its a real shame since its a cool as hell idea.
One enthusiastic newbie has some questions, including:
Property buying and selling, rights, early adopters, etc’, what’s the current consensus on that? If I “donate”/”pledge” $100 right now, will it assure anything for when the time comes? Will I get a small place where I can build my hut? or will I get a 2 bedroom apartment in a 50 stories high sky scraper?
In still another thread, Reddit Islanders reject one island in Florida – on sale for $42,000 — as too small, though one suggests they could build a tall tower on it to accommodate more Redditors.
Another frugal Redditor suggests they could start out by building houses out of old shipping pallets!
But if you’re going to need a shipping container just to get the pallets out there, another asks, why not just live in the shipping container?
People, I cannot tell you how enthusiastic I am about the prospect of a bunch of Redditors moving to some tiny island in the middle of nowhere to live in a shipping container.
EDITED TO ADD: ArchangelleDworkin of SRS is on the case, and it turns out this post isn’t quite as off-topic as I thought. In fact, it’s totally on-topic, as she shows with this collection of horrible shit the Reddit Islanders have been saying about women (while lamenting the fact that their never-going-to-happen island project would be a total sausage fest).
If you follow her links you’ll discover even more poop that she didn’t even bother to link to. On Reddit, there is literally too much poop for ordinary humans to catalog.
Also, I totally stole her Reddit island graphic.
Dracula! You beat me to that Mighty Boosh reference!! It was the first thing I thought of.
I often wish people who are an internet nuisance would just go form their own island where they could just annoy each other instead of me.
NGL though, I have thought out mansions with some of my internet communities. But an island is a bit extreme.
I don’t know if any of you are familiar with the story of Casey Serin, but this legendarily unsuccessful entrepreneur launched a very similar island-based scheme back in 2009. Naturally, it came to nothing.
(Wikipedia biog here – scroll down to the section headed ‘Island Project’. Plus a more detailed timeline of his efforts here).
Given how geeks (myself included) can get in debates about operating systems or programming languages, I’d love to see their *political* debates about issues like algae farm subsidies. Assuming I’m not on the island at that point.
I think you have developed an (admittedly, amusing) perspective from the the least likely to contribute to this project. But its less amusing to consider the adults in charge who hold a more pragmatic view and discount about 90% of the participation. But we are in fact the ones leading the effort. For instance, my relationship to reddit stands at a distance and I cringe at the how many (including many in this project) cling to such a relatively loathsome community. I also think the project has < 10% chance of success. Nonetheless, several people involved are essentially planning on homesteading anyway and we see this island approach as nothing too dissimilar than the thousands of other homesteading communities setup around the world. We understand the likelihood of doing without plumbing, reliable communication, or consumables. It's a major reason we've all already made plans (or are already) living a homestead lifestyle. We'll happily join forces with those who want a place to visit, build a more developed community, or whatever…
Here’s a guy that did it:
Cute baby tortoises appear around 0:50, the littlest guy at 1:30.
I want to see how they plan for infrastructure, like medical care, or an ISP.
Imagine the shock when they discover there is no internet.
Not just the ISP thing, but basic human needs. Nothing funnier than a bunch of libertarians realising that in their utopia, someone is still going to have to handle sewage.
Now how would those shipping containers hold up in a tropical storm?
I’d give them two days before they resorted to cannibalism. Those Lunchables won’t last forever.
We’re going to build an alternate society made up entirely of people who self-selected for the project based on their profound conviction that society is an illusion and that it is only composed of atomic individuals all pursuing their own self-interest at any cost. Yeah, that’s going to work.
David – check out http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=281853941908064&set=a.202254119868047.47277.202244566535669&type=1&theater
I really need to stay off the internet on my birthday. 🙁
He’s pretty racist too.
No need to import coconuts, though. The swallows will take care of that.
Dani: African, or european?
SRS’s Archangelle Dworkin imagines the island: http://i.imgur.com/PTalm.png
@Dani: I see whut u did there!
I am all for these guys having an island of their own. Let them go out with their half-formed schemes and their inadequate supplies. Then we can all sit back and laugh.
I almost forgot there will be a third woman on the island. She’s already married to Thurston Howell, III, a millionaire. OMG married to a rich man that’s hypergamy!!!1!!!1!
I would personally hold a bake sale to raise island-buying funds for them.
ArchangelleDworkin of SRS is on the case, and it turns out this post isn’t quite as off-topic as I thought. In fact, it’s totally on-topic, as she shows with this collection of horrible shit the Reddit Islanders have been saying about women (while lamenting the fact that their never-going-to-happen island project would be a total sausage fest).
http://www.reddit.com/r/ShitRedditSays/comments/uu4kj/effort_post_redditors_want_to_start_their_own/
If you follow her links you’ll discover even more poop that she didn’t even bother to link to. On Reddit, there is literally too much poop for ordinary humans to catalogue.
Also, I am totally stealing her Reddit island graphic.
So it’s just truly like Calvin and Hobbes in their treehouse creating GROSS (or whatever it was, keeping out slimy girls).
The comic is funny, especially when Hobbes deserts for Susie.
These guys….not so much.
*blech* May I say: CREEPY!
I like this plan. Especially with sea levels projected to rise over the next few years. It should be fun to watch them fight over the steadily dwindling square footage.
Get back to talking about MRAs so we can all laugh at what a moron you are
Aren’t there already islands you can go live on, which actually have infrastructure? Or is this one of those “I don’t care if if I have no electricity, heat, roads, mail service or grocery stores as long as the government isn’t stealing my money anymore!” things?
Also I just love the “girls? are there girls there?” guy. Reminds me of Nightblade the Halfling Thief from Dead Alewives’ “Dungeons and Dragons.” “If there’s any GIRRRLS there I wanna DO them!”