What Would We Lose From a Regionalized Internet?

Vegan Pagan asks: "If the internet was separated into regions, how much would you lose? How often do you visit other countries' web sites? How often do you e-mail people in other countries? Do you ever search in a language other than English, and if you do, how often does it turn up foreign vs domestic sites? What would foreigners lose by not being able to visit US-hosted sites, and how quickly would they be able to recreate what they lost? What other process that we are not normally aware of depend on a borderless internet? I find that although I often read in-depth news about other countries, the sites I get that news from are usually hosted in USA, and I only bother to read in English. Would the Americans who report world news be hindered by a segregated internet, or do they already have the means to overcome such barriers? How much more expensive and complicated would it be to access sites outside of 'your' internet, and how much slower would it be?"

Spam

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I hope we'd lose the Korean and Chinese spam. That would almost make the fractured Internet worth the loss of the tentacle rape porn.

Sounds awesome!

[ImaNihilist]

This is how it should be. Now the government can create a new branch of the army that will wage war both on and for the internet. We can take over other countires ISPs, under the guise of trying to bring broadband to their country, while we secretly just delete all their content. Then we'll leave and pretend like it never happened.

Arrr

[Hyram Graff]

I would lose access to a wonderful sweedish website. [thepiratebay.org]

Re:i for one

[Valdrax]

haha, I actualy spend a good part of my day on /b/

I pity you, and I pity me for knowing what you're talking about.

Re:Spam, would it diminish?

[WillAffleckUW]

No, the Korean and Chinese spam would just be replaced with Mexican spam, since it's the same region. And that would replace the tentacles with chihuahuas.

Re:As a programmer...

[GreyWolf3000]

Your comment just reminded me that if we did get a regionalized Internet, there would be half as many Gentoo zealots throwing plugs in unrelated topics.

I recant my opposition, then.

Re:Sheesh

[daviddennis]

A lot of the International media has more interesting, or at least more colorful, reporting. Right-wing columnist Mark Steyn [marksteyn.com] writes his often hilarious and always insightful column for publications in Canada, the UK, Israel, the US and probably a few other countries I'm not remembering right now. He's a great writer and I'm happy to see him around.

If you want someone on the radical left, there's always good ol' blood and guts Robert Fisk of the Independent [independent.co.uk], also out of the UK, although you have to pay to read him nowadays. Be warned that although his writing is colorful, his predictive ability's a bit off; he thought our army would be facing tens of thousands of casualties in the Afghan war, for example.

The British press overall seems better written and more enjoyable to read than that in the US. Take The Economist [economist.com] on the center right and the Guardian [guardian.co.uk] on the left. So you can see news from every perspective and political viewpoint without even leaving your computer.

On a more positive vein, many nerds, who are complete losers in love in the US, might want to consider a Filipina wife [filipina101.com]. Once in the Philippines, you change magically into the biggest winner on the planet. International communications and relatively cheap flights makes this something worth thinking about for many.

Filipinas are not subservient, unlike what you may hear, but they do center their world around you, wanting to make you happy. You won't be happy with one if you want a slave, but if you want someone who really cares about you and will support you in what you do, my personal experience says a Filipina wife is just what a lonely nerd needs.

Needless to say, without an International internet, I would not have found out about this and I'd still be thinking my romantic potential was just about zero.

I'm planning to move to the Philippines permanently, due to the low cost of living and the potential happiness from finding a good girl. And of course that makes me hungry for news of the Philippines. Google news aggregates it, but I notice most of it comes from an interesting, diverse set of countries. Of course the local Philippines press is represented, but I also see myself commonly checking out news sources from China, India, and other locations too numerous to mention.

In short, if you look at where I get my news and even where I plan to get my future wife, you can see I'd lose a lot of the net were no longer an International place. And I'm lousy with foreign languages; it doesn't matter since most of these services are either English in origin or translated into English.

D

Re:Spam

[Yakasha]

Actually, I can stop all Korean and Chinese spam for only $500!

Its completely safe too! I don't get paid until you're satisfied it worked!

Just send $500 by Western Union to me here in Ukraine. In one month, once you are satisfied that the spam has stopped, tell me your confirmation number to release the money so I can pick it up!

And for God's sake...

[Anonymous Coward]

would someone please think of the rich Nigerian Princes that need our help to keep their hundreds of thousands of dollars in tact? What would they do without us?

well, he should be careful then

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a possibility that he'll vote the wrong way.