- Author
- Posted by jacquesm, with replies from many commenters
- Published
- 6 October 2025
- Kind
- Hacker News discussion thread
- Original
- news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45489065
- Subject
- Society and technology
What it is
A thread on the Open Source Ecology page, which lists a modular machine set. It gathers opinions from many commenters, with 194 points.
What it says
- One commenter fears faster resource extraction; another says the project is about rebuilding after collapse.
- A long argument contrasts self-sufficiency with specialization and trade, including supply-chain resilience.
- Commenters say progress is slow, citing broken links and a site last updated in 2014. One quotes the New Yorker: all collaborators had left the farm by February 2013.
- Animats argues cheap mass-produced engines and tractors from China already do the job.
- Commenters dispute whether blueprints suffice, citing process knowledge and the history of steam engines.
- Kragen says the list's hay rake is a large tractor-towed machine needing a machine shop.
What evidence it gives
The thread offers commenters' opinions, personal experience and outside links. No data is collected. Some claims, such as steam engine dates, are contested within the thread.
Interests and limits
The commenters are self-selected and often disagree. Several claims, such as the site being last updated in 2014, come from single commenters. The project page itself was not read, only the discussion.