
The Reddit Island Project - tocomment
http://www.redditisland.net/
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maxklein
I'm considering starting a jungle resort where people can come and hack for a
few weeks and build a house with their own hands. Unlike the reddit people, I
actually already own the place. In october or so, I'll start some preliminary
work, perhaps to be fulfilled a couple of years later.

~~~
DrSprout
How much have you done there? I found the technological challenges people
faced in the Amazon pretty fantastic when I visited Yachana Lodge
[<http://www.yachana.com/>] in Ecuador. This was a few years ago, and their
use of water wheels, (some made out of bicycle tires) gas engines, and mesh
networks to get around the difficulty of wiring and power generation was
simply fascinating.

~~~
maxklein
Nothing is done, just cleared the spot of grass and there is some shack there.
I worked on a water wheel when I was there a year or two back, but we could
not get it to work (and produce electricity). I'll make a HN post maybe
someone will give me some tips on this.

~~~
ErrantX
r.e. electricity production; I might be able to help. My degree was
Electronics (rather than Electrical) Engineering but you can't help pick up a
few tips :)

(I expect there are more qualified people here too; but if none appear...)

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tocomment
At first this might not seem interesting to HN, but I'm wondering if this is a
progression of the open source movement. First software, then hardware, now
big projects like resorts.

I'm not sure what would make a resort "open source", but a bunch of strangers
collaborating over the internet to open a resort is pretty awesome.

~~~
mcav
That's arguably the same way the United States came into being: People didn't
like the way the current closed system was being done, so they decided to fork
a new government and invite everyone to contribute.

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KC8ZKF
Well, not quite everyone. White male property owners.

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carbocation
That's pithy and funny, but not really fair to most of the Founders. Akhil
Amar's biography of the Constitution gives a readable refutation of that
concept.

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KC8ZKF
He doesn't really refute the concept as much as he suggests the system was
better than others at the time.

~~~
carbocation
In his lectures, at least, he argues not only that the system was better than
others at the time, but also that the founders designed it in a far more
democratic way _than people give them credit for in retrospect_. Perhaps this
was not emphasized in the book; it's been awhile since I read it.

~~~
moultano
It is a very difficult thing to argue for the correct amount of credit to give
a historical figure. I respect anyone who tries.

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andrewcamel
Now that this Reddit Island Project has surfaced and gained some support, I
actually think that an island for a larger group might be more practical. A
group the size of YCombinator with the resources of YCombinator just might be
able to do this. If we expand the project to include all YCombinator startups
and contributors to HN, there should be enough people so that each person
would only have to pay a rather small sum. I know that I am putting the cart
before the horse here, but with a somewhat reasonable goal of 10M, we could
probably purchase our island within a few years.

Just to continue with the brainstorming, it would be even more practical to
have an "island" on land. We could purchase about 50 acres worth of some
backcountry land in the US and develop it into a place for some sort of
entrepreneurial or internet-centered facility.

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turtle4
This seems like a case where they really ought to consider starting 'lean'.

Initially buy a small house in an area densely populated by redditors and turn
it into a coffee house or something where they can go to hang out. When you've
gotten past a certain point, move to a small resort location, then eventually
get to the island stage. It just seems like setting yourself up for failure to
go straight to the island, which has soooo many more obstacles in the way.

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BoppreH
Interestingly, I saw a similar project a couple of months ago. But it was for
the Anonymous group. Don't know what happened to them.

    
    
      We are not attempting to establish a separate
      country or create problems for ourselves.
    

I wonder what would happen if they were. Not that I want to see them in
trouble, but a big, populated version of Sealand could bring many economical,
political and even ethic concepts to discussion.

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RevRal
Just putting this out there: I don't think this idea is crazy. I fully endorse
this.

However, I'm not really a part of the Reddit community.

If HN wants to start a similar project, or combine, I would be completely for
it and would to like be involved. Or, I seem to remember a submission a while
ago about creating off-shore communities.... Could just join that initiative.

Was it the Venus Project perhaps:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Venus_Project> ?

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mcav
Interesting. Speculation: The bigger the project, the more difficult it will
be to maintain order and continuity.

It's not easy to fork an island.

~~~
pavs
Forking is one click away: <http://github.com/echo0101/Island>

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petercooper
At the least, they'll get enough to start a Second Life island.

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jonafato
But then they'll develop their own economy, banks, and an economic crisis of
their own.

[http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2007/08/virtu...](http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2007/08/virtual_bank)

~~~
sliverstorm
Which brings about an interesting question; every independent country either
needs to be self-supporting (which would be friggin badass, and hackers seem
one of the most likely groups to grow their own food etc- but still unlikely)
needs an export. What export would a computer geek nation produce? Skilled
labor is hard to export.

*: as for hackers growing their own food, I consider myself somewhat of a hacker in the frame of mind sense, and I find I can absolutely obsess over any topic if necessary- so I can just imagine hackers obsessing over farming...

~~~
pigbucket
Hackers, and 80 million other people. Reddit suggest tourism. Pitch "come see
how hackers farm" to the farmvillians wanting an edge.

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smiler
Do the islands come with internet connections? I can see getting a good
internet connection to the island will cost more than the island itself :)

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icey
This strikes me as the perfect candidate for a kickstarter donation page. I'm
surprised they haven't done it already.

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masterponomo
Dean Kamen did it on his own:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Dumpling_Island>

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SandB0x
I know how this story ends: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163978/>

~~~
bluedanieru
This is what I was thinking. I hope these guys have the presence of mind to
basically fund a local militia should they go the route of "solitary island
out in the middle of nowhere." They aren't actually considering only islands
though, as parts of islands are in their spreadsheet as well.

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abalashov
I'd be curious to see what legislative bodies full of trolls look like.
Assuming the US Congress isn't an example.

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terrapinbear
I will donate all of my assets to this project if the name is changed to
Reddit Monster Island.

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noodle
the project seems to be stagnant right now.

i love the idea, but what i would prefer is the establishment of a community
where people would come to live and work remotely, instead of buying an island
primarily to create a resort on it for vacations and tourism.

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Aetius
This is a good idea, akin to a Luxembourg for technology, except for one
thing.

A lack of women. Oh sure maybe some redditors will bring their wives and
girlfriends, but they will still be outnumbered in the same proportions as
Women In Tech.

Solve the women problem and you'll have your island.

~~~
dalore
I smell an opportunity for an escort service :)

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mikedmiked
You have a truly entrepreneurial mind!

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itistoday
Hacker Island, anyone? Or are we too busy/pale-skinned for a tropical island?

It should be located across from Reddit Island though, and smaller. Oh, and
everyone on Hacker Island must have a hatchet and a monocle.

Perhaps a cave would be more appropriate.

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jasonwilk
Hacker Island would be sweet. PG, you got $17K on it? You can have 6% of the
island

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bhousel
It would just turn into Reddit Island eventually anyway..

