Internet blackout contingency plans - Making sure Grug can still shitpost in the apocalypse.

[Sperg_rancher]

I have learned that many countries today, including the UK and Australia, have controls, legal or illegal for completely shutting off the internet on a country-wide basis.

This the old noggin joggin. I'm a murimutt of the highest order, and while my country claims to not have any sort of kill-switch, they could most likely make it work if they want it to.
Internet blackouts ordered by governments are becoming a very popular way to control citizens, mostly in the middle east right now, with India, Pakistan, and Isreal being the largest proponents. However, the idea has spread to Korea as well where every year there's 3 days where the internet is shut off for students to take exams without cheating. It's safe to say the idea is spreading at a rate we should take note of.

I hear ya laughing. Sperg_Rancher can't go a few days without internet. It's more than that. It's not you, it's everything. Stores, Banks, People. Payment gateways. Everyone. Any infrastructure you relied on using the internet is now inaccessible to you. Your Bank accounts, your news, and even SMS would not work without internet (regardless of whether or not cell towers worked) That's all to say, it's not a dream that this may happen. It's likely that you will experience or know someone who will experience government-sanctioned internet loss.

So what do you do if the internet is shut off for a few days? a week? a month? Is there anything you can do to help someone where the internet in their location is removed on a geographic scale?

 

[Judge Dredd]

So what do you do if the internet is shut off for a few days? a week? a month? Is there anything you can do to help someone where the internet in their location is removed on a geographic scale?

I had a somewhat miniature preview of this. Though for me nothing happened. Long story short, all the payment processors in my local area stopped working for a bit. I don't know how long or how wide spread, but I remember going to the shops and there was a bunch of people hanging around because they wanted to buy things, but couldn't because all electronic payment options weren't working. Me being a cash carrying ludite had no issue.

Something related you might want to look into is the Carrington Event. The short version of that is a solar flare disrupted the telegraph system for days.

 

[ChefBourgeoisie]

I do not know that there's any reasonable way to mitigate this. Starlink and other high-tech wireless solutions are just as vulnerable at their downlink facilities. If one were on the border with Canada and/or Mexico, and if one were borderline-billionaire rich, it might be possible to afford to build a cross-border internet access that could also fly under the radar from the glowies who are concerned with such a thing (Homeland Security? not real sure, honestly).

One might also start to learn ham radio, get their license, stuff like that. If you could make reliable contacts in other countries, they might be safe enough relaying reports, and have an interest in doing so. But I don't think you'd be safe to do that yourself. First couple times, they'd be possibly caught off guard, but the next day or the next week they'd have teams with directional radio equipment, they'd triangulate you, and they'd do whatever it is they do to people who would otherwise be giving us international internet access.

Ham isn't a cheap hobby. You could barely get started for $1000, and you wouldn't have everything you need before you spent much more than that.

So what do you do if the internet is shut off for a few days? a week? a month?

I think that the internet allows us to learn and to do things we couldn't learn any other way. It's imperative that we learn these things while it is still viable, so that when it does shut down we have what we need to continue. I don't want to be the man that mutters to himself "but we would've been able to make X and grown Y if only we had started back in 2024/2029/whenever". That seems pretty miserable.

Treat it like it's already scheduled to be gone. Give yourself 12 months or 24 months, or even 10 years. And make a plan where you will have what you need off of it before that deadline.

 

[SirCliveSinclairdabbing]

It's about prepping in general really. Choose a time scale to be ready for (days/weeks) and have enough supplies ready. If they expire make sure they're rotated, used and replaced.
Then make a lead box and stick a laptop full of porn in it.

 

[Alligator Alcatraz]

I guess to prepare for a society that inexplicably loses access to the capital i Internet would just be about storage backups.

In the event of a global CME from a solar flare on par with the Carrington event of 1859, it has been speculated society won't recover for 10 years. This estimate was made in respect to the speed of producing new components from scratch to make repairs. That is only for core government operations, however. General consumers would have to wait longer, so we could enter maybe 20-40 years of darkness.

Anything that was not stored in a Faraday bag or otherwise properly shielded would be fried. Electronics that aren't plugged in to the wall and happen to be surrounded by thick walls have a chance of surviving. Motor vehicles made in the early 1960s to present have ECUs (onboard computers) which regulate fuel injection and emissions systems and therefore would be unusable.

Spoiler: how modern vehicles could be made usable again

A modern-day road car is an amalgamation of several sub-systems, and electronics usually have an important role to play in them. The nice thing is that many of these sub-systems were present long before modern-day electronics became commonplace:

Engine

The heart of the beast remains mechanical to this day, but supporting systems like fuel delivery and spark may need to be addressed:

- Replace electronic fuel injection with carburetor(s) or K-Jetronic fuel injection for a fully mechanical fuel delivery solution.
- Replace any spark plug coils with a mechanical distributor.

Note that swapping out an EFI setup for a mechanical solution could leave several sensors redundant, such as MAF, MAP, knock sensors, lambda sensors, CPS, CKPS...

Transmission

Most manual transmissions should be fine as the shift logic is embedded in the driver's cranium, but even automatic transmissions that rely on mechanical linkages rather than shift solenoids could be deployed.

Battery/Alternator

The energy source for alternators will not change (rotating engine). Loss of electronics would imply the loss of voltage regulation, although I imagine that an equivalent voltage regulation function could be enacted with simple electrical components.

Throttle

Many cars today take advantage of electronic throttle control (drive-by-wire), which can be swapped out for a more traditional cable-operated equivalent.

Braking

The brakes themselves are mechanical/hydraulic in nature, but you would lose ABS and traction control functionalities if the electronic "brain" behind the ABS module ceases to function.

Drivetrain

Some vehicles make use of electronics to control the amount of torque sent to each wheels via the differential. This could easily be replaced with a mechanical diff.

These are a few of the key sub-systems involved in a motor vehicle. There are many more ways in which existing electronics could be replaced, each with varying degrees of functionality retention.

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/26141/could-a-modern-car-be-modded-enough-to-work-without-ecus

After the day of disaster, there will be many job opportunities for resource excavation, logistics, and farming from governments. It would become a global race to get national defenses operational as soon as possible. Developed countries may find themselves at a disadvantage due to over-reliance on global trade for resources. Both developed and undeveloped countries may experience food shortages due to lack of refrigeration and vehicles to move product. Business would be big for vehicles without computers, analog devices, and natural solutions. Acquiring analog solutions for daily necessities like clocks, calendars, gas stoves, natural soap-making for hygeine, learn to wash laundry manually, acquire a bike or beast of burden, knowing how to farm, etc. You will need books for entertainment, mapping, and learning about local resources. Handicapped, homebound, and individuals who rely on medications to survive will be the first to perish in the aftermath of such an event as medication will be difficult to acquire.

For sure if you live in a city, get the fuck out of there and get to the countryside away from violent looters. If you are going to loot, prioritize the things you really need to survive like weapons, medications, hygeine products, shelters, analog forms of transportation, etc.

 

[85CentSoda]

I know next to nothing about it, but data transmission is possible over radio.

 

[Sperg_rancher]

anything that was not stored in a Faraday bag or otherwise properly shielded would be fried. Electronics that aren't plugged in to the wall and happen to be surrounded by thick walls have a chance of surviving. Motor vehicles made in the early 1960s to present have ECUs (onboard computers) which regulate fuel injection and emissions systems and therefore would be unusable.

I'm not sure folks really understands the level of storm needed to cause damage on this scale... if we're seeing enough power to fry cell phones, it's already exciting the ionosphere, cooking flesh, and most pine trees would probably spontaneously combust.

Treat it like it's already scheduled to be gone.

I like this. If you can treat it like a Y2K without any of the panic, that's the reasonable thing to do. I'm not sure of what common ways to prepare may be however. I've got my ham radio, and that's about all I can think of.

 

[Exister]

If the internet gets shut off, well, guess I'll have to pull out the ol N64 and play some zelda

 

[Judge Dredd]

I like this. If you can treat it like a Y2K without any of the panic, that's the reasonable thing to do. I'm not sure of what common ways to prepare may be however. I've got my ham radio, and that's about all I can think of.

I'm not sure either. I have backup drives containing a bunch of files. Games, films, anime. They should still be good. It doesn't have to be much either. A HDD from Amazon about once a year for £50. Drag and drop files onto it once a month.

I guess downloading wikipedia would've been a good idea in 2012, but these days it's been shit up by ideology too much to bother with outside of video game release dates.

 

[Sperg_rancher]

I'm not sure either. I have backup drives containing a bunch of files. Games, films, anime. [...]

These are all good and dandy, You'll also want a few weeks of cash, because no internet = no withdrawals. groceries, essentials, all the same.
Having an old-fashioned FM radio would also probably not be a bad idea. If there's any news coming in or out, it's gonna be over radio.

 

[Obstacle]

I have books, boardgames, tools, comestibles and nick-nacks aplenty to barter.
If society implodes due to internet blackout, I'll make my living as a pedlar.
You want this fine sterling silver Thai brooch?
How about a pre-war German bible?
I also have this second edition AD&D Monstrous Manual, and a selection of military surplus respirators.
And a contact for artisanal tobacco.
All tax free, of course.

 

[Betonhaus]

I have a server full of tv shows and movies so if the internet goes down and we don't go Mad Max then I'll catch up on One Piece.

 

[Falcos_Commisar]

Motor vehicles made in the early 1960s to present have ECUs (onboard computers)

Try 1990s

Until the 1980s all cars were 100% mechanical.

ODB-2 didn't arrive until 1996

 

[Scatty]

I have a lifetime's worth of video games in a faraday cage, along with a lot of informational books.

 

[Squishie PP]

Local AI language models would definitely be at least somewhat helpful if you are used to relying on the internet for practical information. Llama.cpp is the best way of being able to run them across a wide range of hardware.
Also if you use Linux and want to create a local mirror of your software repositories, see this post I made here.

It would also be wise to keep a device completely sealed off from the Internet for storing all your models and other stuff on. I wouldn't be surprised if all processors with management subsystems had a "brick everything" switch.

 

[Alligator Alcatraz]

I'm not sure folks really understands the level of storm needed to cause damage on this scale... if we're seeing enough power to fry cell phones, it's already exciting the ionosphere, cooking flesh, and most pine trees would probably spontaneously combust.

That is not at all how solar CMEs work. Coronal mass ejections aren't literal balls of fire, but think of them as giant magnetic forces filled with excited protons and electrons, ejected from the sun.

As I had already stated in my post, the world has already experienced multiple massive solar CME events on a scale which would devastate the technology of the modern world. The most recent event was the Carrington event as you can observe by people existing and historical witnesses unscathed without any singed eyebrows. When the Carrington event occured, a man sending a telegram was zapped by the device. People around the world were reporting aurora borealis. If that same CME occured today, however, the results would be vastly different as I had previously stated. The world is very reliant on electronics, live wires, and not much of it is shielded.

Solar weather has it's ups and down in the form of solar cycles. During these cycles solar maxima, the sun can experience increased periods of geomagnetic storms. This year solar weather has been extremely violent (despite the cycle expected to be weak) which is why auroras were able to be seen as South as the equator back in late March! If you saw the total solar eclipse in April you would have seen flares around the sun with your own eyes.

Back in 2012, the sun was at it's solar maxima and there were lots of news articles of scientists expressing actual concern of an upcoming Carrington event it was that bad. After 2012, people say we should now be in the clear but there is no telling if or when the sun could have a sassy day...

Try 1990s

Until the 1980s all cars were 100% mechanical.

ODB-2 didn't arrive until 1996

OBD is not an ECU. Like I said in my post, the ECu is responsible for fuel injection and other emissions functions. ECUs have existed as far back as the 1940s by BMW They would enter mass production in America for cars in the late 60s.

 

[ChefBourgeoisie]

I don't think I could find a source today, but I've read that during the Carrington Event's peak, it was more than a telegraph operator being zapped... lines caught on fire. Batteries caught on fire. Only the very primitive electronics of that time period prevented it from being a doomsday scenario.

Talk of Faraday cages is mostly cope. Sure, you could go to the expense, put a few hard drives into one, or hell, an entire NAS (boggles the mind that petabyte-level stuff is just within consumer reach). But what would you read it on? You'd put an entire laptop in there too, you say? Will you get a generator going, it's fried too. Oh, you got that going... where will you get fuel? I have aspirations to make my own fuel, but those still require a working tractor, it will be dead as a doornail too. And even if you somehow navigated those things, the laptop screen might be the only electric light around for miles. Whether you have fancy LED bulbs or old incandescents, those are all burnt to a crisp alongside the infrastructure to light them up. CE doesn't hit all geographic locations equally, there might be pockets of semi-functional electric infrastructure and equipment, but the grid's interconnected now days (as well it should be, how dare Texas not want to do that!), and being connected to failing grids could well scuttle the rest of it. There wouldn't be enough industry left functional to get the rest going (better hope they can manage a manual soft landing shutdown of the nuke plants).

We have other disasters where these extra precautions could be warranted, but a Carrington Event isn't one of those. In some ways it will be as devastating as would the dinosaur-killer asteroid falling on our heads.

 

[The Foxtrot]

I don't think I could find a source today, but I've read that during the Carrington Event's peak, it was more than a telegraph operator being zapped... lines caught on fire. Batteries caught on fire. Only the very primitive electronics of that time period prevented it from being a doomsday scenario.

Talk of Faraday cages is mostly cope. Sure, you could go to the expense, put a few hard drives into one, or hell, an entire NAS (boggles the mind that petabyte-level stuff is just within consumer reach). But what would you read it on? You'd put an entire laptop in there too, you say? Will you get a generator going, it's fried too. Oh, you got that going... where will you get fuel? I have aspirations to make my own fuel, but those still require a working tractor, it will be dead as a doornail too. And even if you somehow navigated those things, the laptop screen might be the only electric light around for miles. Whether you have fancy LED bulbs or old incandescents, those are all burnt to a crisp alongside the infrastructure to light them up. CE doesn't hit all geographic locations equally, there might be pockets of semi-functional electric infrastructure and equipment, but the grid's interconnected now days (as well it should be, how dare Texas not want to do that!), and being connected to failing grids could well scuttle the rest of it. There wouldn't be enough industry left functional to get the rest going (better hope they can manage a manual soft landing shutdown of the nuke plants).

We have other disasters where these extra precautions could be warranted, but a Carrington Event isn't one of those. In some ways it will be as devastating as would the dinosaur-killer asteroid falling on our heads.

It would be an instant return to the 1850s for Humanity, and I'd argue that while we could come back from it, it'd take a century or two and a fuckton of misery.

 

[ChefBourgeoisie]

and I'd argue that while we could come back from it, it'd take a century or two and a fuckton of misery.

If we didn't already have a dozen other problems, each potentially world-ending themselves. Even if we dodge all of those others, fertility rate trends will have us facing extinction in 150 years. That's about the same time scale that you're talking about just to build back.

There's a future that's not very far off, just 20 or 30 years from now, where there aren't enough young people to do the work of keeping existing infrastructure running, let alone rebuilding civilization. The human species is collectively committing suicide, and the rest of us don't get to opt out of it.

 

[P R O X Y]

Not a single idea about what happens if a "solar event" happens that destroys all electronics. At that point everything is fucked pretty much.

I think the bigger issue is the shutting down the internet aspect by various governments. I read years back about a phone app that allowed people to communicate via bluetooth with one another to prevent censorship, but it didnt seem to catch on. If power is still available what is the best way to have a small "internet" of sorts that would only work with whoever else you set it up with.