What would you do...

[Weegee]

...For a Klondike Bar?

Whoops. Let's try that again:

What would you do if the internet were to "break down" permanently tomorrow? To what extent would it affect your life if everything you had ever done online vanished instantaneously? That being said, anything downloaded and saved offline would be safe, but assume that everything from Facebook to Wikipedia would be irrepairably wiped.

Please don't waste anyone's time by explaining why this would be technologically impossible. This is from a purely hypothetical standpoint. So, in summary, how do you think the death of the World Wide Web would affect you, and the world as a whole?

[Chupperson Weird]

So wait, since everything is stored "offline" on server hard drives...

[Weegee]

Please don't waste anyone's time by explaining why this would be technologically impossible.

Let's assume that every server worldwide exploded simultaneously. Care to needlessly pick apart any more of my initial post?

[ShadowBrain]

Well... having lost game data and many things stored online in the past, I can certainly imagine how this would affect me. First of all, I have quite a few pictures and works on art on Photobucket that would be gone, but the most important of those I've backed up anyway. All my posts on the FF would be a memory (which would be a shame, because I sometimes like to revisit old threads), and... that's it, really. I mean, there's sites with huge archives I like to check up on like Snopes or Something Awful, but that wouldn't be a huge deal because, with the whole web down, it's not like I'd be missing anything new. Like I said, that's it--I don't Tweet or have a Facebook or MySpace (or a cellphone, for that matter). Many things on the internet exist (or did) in physical form or on TV anyway. I'd say it's actually a greater catastrophe when I'm away for the internet for a while and it's still running without me.

[Glorb]

I'd suffer from minor withdrawl that would last a week, week an a half tops. I'd get antsy when at home, but for the most part, I'd be pretty okay. I'm curious as to how people with extremely net-heavy lives and senses of humor would adjust; for example, I'm sure some people would just spend days on end just holing themselves up in their rooms.

The most traumatizing part would be people constantly moaning about how they miss the internet, though.

[dc804]

I would miss it, but I am sure I can deal with no internet pretty easily.

But the annoying part would be my mom and my sister crying about how that there is no internet.

[Sqrt2]

Although I'd be bored, I think I could cope with no internet.

I'd miss you guys though :(

[Mr. Wiggles]

I'd probably die of boredom and without a free source of porn or ecchi, I'd get irratant around women, moreso than usual.

also, it would make trolling significantly harder since I'd actually be running a risk of getting hurt instead of merely getting blocked or banned.

[Koopaslaya]

The only connections I would lose would be the ones made here. That'd be a shame, but oh well. Outside of that, my endless search for new music would be put on halt for a while, I guess. Other than that, I've got a lot of other things to do besides being on the computer, so it wouldn't be a total catastrophe.

[Weegee]

I can picture Mr. Wiggles using internet terminology in real life. A word of warning, guy: "LOL, AIDS" is not an acceptable term paper topic.

I suppose things would be more devastating from a worldwide view: For starters, millions of people would lose contact with online acquaintanes, phone services would be overrun, unemployment rates would skyroclet, banking records would be ruined, and California's entirely porn-fueled economy would come to a grinding halt. Have I missed anything?

[Glorb]

See: Project Mayhem.

[The Chef]

Eh. It would give me more time to watch TV, play video games and draw.

also, it would make trolling significantly harder since I'd actually be running a risk of getting hurt instead of merely getting blocked or banned.

I think this is a definite sign that it's gone to your head.

[CrossEyed7]

I'd be less ****ed if I was in a city where there's still stuff and people. If I had to keep living in my backwater hometown that's thirty miles away from everything and then I didn't even have half-real Internet people to talk to, it'd really suck for me.

[Weegee]

I don't Tweet or have a Facebook or MySpace (or a cellphone, for that matter).

That's it; I'm now officially convinced that we're the same person. You don't happen to have a birthmark just above your right nipple, do you?

Anyways, I'm mostly in your and CrossEyed's boat. Aside from the occasional email, I don't maintain much online contact with anyone besides y'all here. This, combined with my being an only child and the lack of similarly-aged people in my neighbourhood, would equate to considerable loneliness.

[ShadowBrain]

That's it; I'm now officially convinced that we're the same person. You don't happen to have a birthmark just above your right nipple, do you?

No, of course no--wait... *checks*

Holy crap, I do. Well, maybe it's a freckle, but...

I'm not an only child, though.