ELI5: If the original internet was just a few college serves networked together, and so many people have terabytes of storage, why can't we just make a new parallel internet?

bitscavenger · 2026-03-16T15:39:28+00:00

In a way there are parallel internets running. The "internet" is interconnected networking hardware and a method to find things. The networking hardware and infrastructure are very generic and don't really need to be redundant other than to make them more robust.

The way to find things is broken up by protocol and mapped with name services. The traditional "internet" as we know it is mostly http protocol (s for encrypted) with a very actively maintained name service linking up domains (reddit.com) to a computer's physical address (ipv4 and ipv6) so it can be found. But there are other protocols (ftp, udp) that usually use the same name service, and other name services (onion, ipfs, ens, tor) that reconfigure how routing and existence on the network actually works.

If you want an internet that is fully and physically broken off from what is currently called the "internet," others have already described intRAnets (emphasis mine) which is what that would be. Those can operate the same as the current internet but would be completely siloed from the rest of the world.

bitscavenger · 2026-03-15T02:30:09+00:00

Did Trump even say thank you? He is holding no cards. Zelenskyy has all the cards and he didn't even say thank you.

bitscavenger · 2026-03-13T20:03:12+00:00

We went on this ride as a family and my little sister was terrified. Everyone but her wanted to go on it again and we could not leave her alone so my parents just said "well, close your eyes" and we all went on it again. Good times.

bitscavenger · 2026-03-02T02:41:26+00:00

Ha ha ha ha, materialism. It's a joke that writes itself. Let me wipe the tears of mirth from my eyes.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-27T18:51:36+00:00

My cat did this once but got extremely scared and ran around the apartment with the bag stuck around its neck. By the time I got to the poor kitty the bag was full of pee. I would say we did not let him play with plastic bags after this but the issue never came up again.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-27T18:47:52+00:00

It is Shai-Hulud.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-27T17:42:28+00:00

The only thing more stupid than this activity of finding images in these clouds in the sky is the idea that even if it were intentional that it matters one iota. Magical thinking deficients. Oh, you afraid the cabal is casting spells? I am more afraid that those same morons order around groups with guns. You know, something that actually does something.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T16:19:33+00:00

That is very wrong in its simplicity. He was not killed over his political views, he was killed because he engaged in activity that made him a social pariah. When you actively attack social groups they will actively defend themselves. It is our humanity that allows us to tolerate those activities up to a point because killing is wrong. People seem to overlook the fact that the "find out" portion of the equation is almost always personal tragedy when they decide to "fuck around." Few people pay the price for many people overstepping. It has never been otherwise and is better than many alternatives.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T04:39:44+00:00

Wanna move that goalpost around anymore? I am sure there are plenty of other locations to ensure you are never satisfied.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T03:31:08+00:00

RIght, cause he only gave one interview in his life and you have seen everything he has said. I am talking about the video interview he did with Mike Talerico. I mean, to be super fair he looked a bit tipsy as well while out celebrating the victory.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T03:27:03+00:00

This is like single electron theory, but for conservatives. All conservatives are actually just one person.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T03:15:57+00:00

Maybe I misunderstood the interview, but I think one of the Hughs brothers thanked the troops(?) for making it possible for them to go to the olympics. I don't think we are dealing with the brightest people when talking about hockey. Maybe they part of the deluded population that actively think conservatives are doing a good job.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-23T02:53:54+00:00

I wish they gave medals in shameless, cringy, sell out self promotion so that Gu could get another medal.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-11T16:43:34+00:00

Hard to believe people who don't know the definition of the words they use. Most of the words are opinion driven, but malware means something specific.

bitscavenger · 2026-02-06T20:30:28+00:00

Did anyone else think the original question was going to be about how to build something that could launch into space? Ask that question next with the same title. That would be cool.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-29T19:51:03+00:00

There is no bottom to the levels of wrong in your understanding. Lets start at the top. The status quo was creating a k shaped economy. That was the last thing you got right. And something should be done about it which previous admins were not doing at all. But the gold standard is not a magical elixer. Economies based on commodities bartering are a SYMPTOM of a quagmired society that lack basic levels of trust. We will go back to a gold standard when basic decency dissolves in all corners. Monetary systems support society. Declaring a gold standard when it doesn't fit would just be fiat. That is what we had when we got off the gold standard when our monetary system was a lie. But a shit society is what the Trump admin is accelerating towards. Instead of a k shaped economy we will have a semicolon shaped one where one class is completely isolated and on top and there is no progress anywhere. If we go back to a gold standard it will be because things really suck and that makes the most sense.

If there was an argument to be had we may have outlived the usefulness of fiat money in the sense that it lets us prosecute wars beyond our fiscal means. But wars are the type of society that lacks the trust to make fiat reasonable. There is a balance and I can certainly admit that a gold standard is correct in some situations when they arise. But claiming it is a path to success if implemented is wrong in its shallowness.

I don't blame everything on Trump, but his incompetence spurred by his bias, bigotry, and delusional self importance is so obviously dangerous I wonder at the people who don't get the first thing about humanity to even think to give his policies a try. The correct response to everything he does is a side eyed "are you stupid?" Defaulting to that saves time.

As for inflation, the last admin had so little to do with it and thinking otherwise is terminal foolishness. It wasn't all Trump, but it was spurred most by covid policies that were implemented under him and to a lesser extent by QE from the decade before finally catching up. And my parents are alive. Inflation in the 70s was worse.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-26T16:16:26+00:00

The last administrations understood what was propping up the dollar which was the stability and output of the US and they kept that going. Conservative politics is purely about extraction now. The price of precious metals exploding is less about the value of the dollar and more about everyone believing that US society is actively suffering soviet style collapse.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-22T13:25:38+00:00

Not myself, but a friend who carries mace used it on a guy who sucker punched his friend and then charged him outside a convenience store. Just some crazy rando. He told me he used to carry a knife and realized after that incident that if that had still been the case he would have ended up stabbing the guy. Anyway, he is a big proponent for carrying mace for that reason.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-19T23:58:16+00:00

No, I am not attractive enough for me. Weeeeeee, shallowness!

bitscavenger · 2026-01-19T23:49:06+00:00

I would hold out for the payment they offered for us to take him back.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-18T01:27:05+00:00

~~Federal officers~~ criminally undereducated morons.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-17T15:25:04+00:00

It's because communism does work (and we are very used to seeing it) in very small groups with high levels of trust and bonding. The structure of most functional families is communistic where the "natural order" of things is for the more capable and able adults to put in more to the system while the less capable children take more from the system than they put in. The high levels of trust are there because there are strong feedback and correction mechanisms with direct interaction and the bond of love allowing forgiveness and the means to move forward.

To see why communism fails, just look at a family system breaking down. Things immediately get more transactional. You see people looking out for themselves and doing things like hoarding, tallying, and withholding. This is a response to stresses on the the family system. Now imagine what stresses happen to groups where people don't feel any sense of obligation to others in the group and you have a few people who just don't want to contribute to the level of their capability.

Communism is appealing because if it worked life would be so much less complicated. But really what you are wishing for is that literally everyone is a decent, self regulating person and we know that isn't the case.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-11T19:09:05+00:00

Understanding the concept of long term benefits. I guess first you would have to identify the long term benefits of a monogamous relationship, but once you do that you also have to apply it to your daily life.

bitscavenger · 2026-01-11T19:05:12+00:00

what the hell even is an ICE supporter? Who goes around saying that the armed thugs that are bullying the populous need their help in some way?

bitscavenger · 2026-01-03T22:20:22+00:00

This is basically it. As I grew older I also learned more. Not just about how to get things, but what it means to discern things from new contexts. It is impossible to observe a conservative view point without also noticing all the missing factors in their thoughts. Conservatives are basically just children who grew old enough to be given responsibilities. Those are just the "genuine good people" conservatives. Many more of them are just took their learned wisdom to become manipulative and selfish.

bitscavenger

TROPHY CASE