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Your feelings on this?

Strike the earth!
Good idea, don't count me in, though.
Meh, I just like to vote. Don't care.
You'll probably have a lot of "Fun*", that's for sure.
GET A JOB, YOU HIPPIES.

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Author Topic: Geek Commune  (Read 22209 times)

PTTG??

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Geek Commune
« on: May 22, 2010, 02:10:25 pm »

What is every geek's dream? I think that we find material goods to be interesting, perhaps occasionally useful, but essentially... unessential. A happy geek is one who has a  comfortable set of rooms, the occasional meal, and the best computer money and obsessive tweaking can buy.

It struck me that for many geeks, this means that going out and getting a job just so you can buy a house full of rooms with no apparent purpose- after all, why would you need a whole room for dining? It's just you, and maybe your lan party visitors- is ineffcient. Really all you need, you may say to yourself, is a room for sleeping, a room for everything else (so you don't have to pick the clothes off the floor every time someone visits), and a bathroom. And if only, then, you could somehow borrow or rent the others on the rare occasion you need them.

What you really would like in a home, I know you think on occasion, is a really potent internet connection. Maybe a fiber or two, or a set of T1 lines. And perhaps, with such a connection, you could finally set up your own webserver and DNS and everything. But where would you get the money you need? And the expertise?

And then, on reflection, you may realize that if you did have all that, you'd probably invite people over for the occasional lan party, or perhaps a little DnD session, or any number of geeky things. Why, come to think of it, some of your friends would hardly leave at all!

Perhaps you think this is just an idle fantasy, but I tell you now that this is not the hallucination it may seem!

My idea is really rather simple; anywhere from the traditional seven to perhaps a couple dozen people of geekly stature decide to pool their resources. That isn't to say you give up everything you have- perhaps a mere few thousand dollars, not even enough for a small apartment or even the tiniest of homes- and with the collected funds (which would be a very significant amount), set out to build a communal living space.

Now, determining how many geeks would be best to start with, and how much of a starting price, and what upkeep would be needed requires some modest but non-trivial work. It depends, in large part, on where this commune might be founded. Perhaps in Canada? California? Europe? Any of those countries might work (I kid of course, I know Canada isn't really a whole "country")

Further, how we build is just as important. Do we take over some existing structure and convert it, or strike the  earth ourselves and make something specific to our own plans. Rural or Urban? Wood stoves or nuclear reactors? Both? 7 or 8 T1-lines? Panel the outside with T1-11 for irony? These questions can change who would join the project and how much it might cost to start. But these questions come later. What I am asking now is just this: Does anyone out there expect anything to come from this but a half-dozen geeks frozen in the canadian wilderness?


And if you are interested, don't worry, we'll make sure to set up the best group dining hall you've ever seen.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2010, 03:08:08 pm by PTTG?? »
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Caesar

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2010, 02:42:51 pm »

Europe isn't a country, and neither is California..

It's a continent.
Anyways, I wouldn't have the funds to cooperate here.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2010, 02:47:53 pm by Caesar »
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Enzo

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2010, 02:46:35 pm »

Neither is California.

I think that was the joke. I think.
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Caesar

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2010, 02:48:16 pm »

So do I, but it's always fun to reply dead-serious to an obvious joke.
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PTTG??

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2010, 02:59:16 pm »

Don't tell anybody, but we ceeded from the US in the '80s. They haven't figured it out yet.
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Cthulhu

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2010, 03:11:35 pm »

No thanks, I am a low-consumption person like every other geek, but I don't want to live with a bunch of greasy neckbeards.  Not only would it smell bad, but it would totally cramp my style with the ladies.

That's a big factor here.  Everyone needs a li'l love in their life, and do you really think girls are going to want to have anything to do with you when you tell them you live in the feared Grognard Warrens?  Let alone girls actually joining the commune.
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PTTG??

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2010, 03:23:02 pm »

I'll agree that the situation at first seems dire- but, I rather suspect that while a small group of six or seven may be dominated by males, a larger group (a dozen or more) would start to balance out. After all, Girleeks do exist; indeed, the reason they seem rare is because the wise ones know better than to advertise.
 
A relatively urban group, more of a boarding house than a true commune, remains a possibility. And, worst case senario, once we reach half membership, the geeks already aboard could always refuse new male members.
 
Still, an important consideration to raise, Cthulu.
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redacted123

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« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2010, 03:44:52 pm »

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« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 10:49:02 am by Stany »
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PTTG??

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2010, 03:58:49 pm »

We'll see if we can get a system similar to this 40 Gbps one.
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DJ

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2010, 04:09:47 pm »

Rural is much cheaper, and you can have a garden to cut down food costs as well. You're still going to need jobs, though.
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Grakelin

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2010, 04:16:27 pm »

I read this as 'Greek Commune' and wondered why the OP was being so racist.
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PTTG??

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2010, 04:27:09 pm »

Rural is much cheaper, and you can have a garden to cut down food costs as well. You're still going to need jobs, though.

Quite true. Luckilly, we can compromise between rural and urban, and let's not forget that with the real estate system being in the trouble it's in, we are in a buyer's market just about anywhere we choose.
 
As for jobs, that's definitely true. While it may be possible for the commune to make some money on it's own (anything from handcrafted mug sales in the front yard to internet fundraising), one of the real distinctions such a project would have from a true commune would be that it does rely on members going out and getting "real" jobs.
 
Nevertheless, to those who voted for "get a job, hippies", I can only say that we won't let the man keep us down, man.
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Armok

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2010, 05:31:33 pm »

I'm in sweden, and I'm going to stay weith my mum as long as I posibly can, but I think this is a great idea and if my home town was nuked literaly or something I might start lookng for something like this.
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redacted123

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« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2010, 05:32:49 pm »

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« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 10:48:26 am by Stany »
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Caesar

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Re: Geek Commune
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2010, 06:15:17 pm »

if my home town was nuked
I think it might be a little late by that point.
Maybe he'd be on vacation when the theoretical nukes fell?
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