Submission 23,403

Part of a series on Reddit. [View Related Entries]

users banned from r/redditisland CryptoDawn (6065) 7 years ago send message remove went batshit as a moderator

2021 Google 2021 Google 2021 Google 02021 Googl 2021 Googie 202 Google

We dont need reddit's Island SHUT UP made with mematic

Bad news Tik Tok is already ahead of us They already have a Island. imgflip .com

We should spam TikTok with anti China ideas so they will ban it Now that I got Redditors attention with a meme, can I pls get a citizenship? >- -< made with mematic

View All 49 Images

About

Reddit Island / Memeland refers to a plan by Redditors to buy an island or series of islands and declare an independent nation known as "Memeland" for Redditors to move to. The planning began on April 30th, 2021, resulting in the subreddit /r/Reddit_Island and numerous memes about it appearing on the platform in early May. Plans soon changed to start a Reddit Town rather than an island.

Origin

Plans to buy an island for Redditors were first explored by u/matude in 2010, who created the subreddit /r/RedditIsland^[3] to plan the project. The project was abandoned in 2016.

On April 30th, 2021, Redditor u/MrNoName_ishere posted a Spider-Man's Presentation format to /r/memes^[8] reading, "If Redditors wanted to, they would join together and buy an island for a meme," titling the post, "I bet you won't do it," garnering over 32,900 upvotes in three days (shown below).

If Redditors wanted to, they would join together and buy an island for a meme

On the same day, u/MrNoName_ishere posted to /r/AskReddit,^[1] "There are multiple islands on sale right now. What's stopping a group of Redditors from coming together and buying at least 1 of them?" The post gained over 90 upvotes and a number of supporters in the comments. On May 1st, MrNoName_ishere posted to /r/memes,^[2] "What have we done," and a photoshop of a "breaking news" clip showing an island with the text, "Redditors buy multiple islands and proclaim themselves as an independent nation, known as Memeland" (shown below). The post gained over 18,600 upvotes in three days.

LIVE BREAKING NEWS Redditors buy multiple islands and proclaim themselves as an independent nation, known as Memeland Their capital city is known as Redditgrad with the island of Keanu Reefs serving as their main base of operations.

On the same day, MrNoName_ishere and a number of other Redditors created the /r/Reddit_Island subreddit, gaining over 25,000 members in three days.

Spread

MrNoName_ishere's post inspired numerous posts across Reddit about buying an island and escaping to Memeland. For example, on May 1st, Redditor u/Mxcah_fooooo posted an image macro to /r/memes^[4] consisting of the breaking news photoshop and a clip from Borat with the caption, "I go to Memeland," garnering over 42,700 upvotes in three days (shown below).

The next few days saw numerous viral memes on Reddit about the event, particularly on /r/Reddit_Island, including links to purchasable islands, posts determining various laws for the island, image macros and mockup flags (examples shown below).

OL'RELIABLE Racist people and karens should be banned from our island made with mematic

Memes about the plan also spread outside of Reddit, with many mocking the idea. For example, on May 2nd, iFunny^[9] user JigZY posted a meme suggesting the island should be named the Virgin Islands, garnering over 4,700 smiles in two days (shown below).

BREAKING NEWS Redditors buy multiple islands and proclaim themselves as an independent nation, known as Memeland Their capital city is known as Redditgrad with the island of Keanu Why weren't they named Virgin Islands?!

Some users began posting on /r/meme_island^[6] suggesting moderators try and get the support of Elon Musk for funding since he uses Reddit. On May 3rd, Redditor u/Redditlogicking, a moderator for /r/meme_island,^[5] posted, "Elon Musk wants to talk to me! we'll discuss about the island!" along with a screenshot to the subreddit of their Reddit DMs showing a message request from u/ElonMuskOfficial, garnering over 3,900 upvotes in 17 hours (shown below). Musk has yet to send a follow-up.

Chat Chat Request Redditlogicking Redditor since 7/30/2019 • 53,909 karma REQUESTS ElonMuskOfficial Wants to messa... Accept their request if you'd like to continue the conversation. We won't notify them if you decline. CHATS Mods of Reddit I.. You: I'm not eloq. Web Developer... Wants to messa...

On the same date, u/somejadedvibes posted to /r/EnoughMuskSpam,^[7] "A Reddit island where Musk is the president? Yeah I'll pass." along with a Jim Halpert Pointing To Whiteboard meme suggesting Musk be the president of the island, garnering over 1,900 upvotes in a day (shown below).

The top comment on the post suggests that the whole "Reddit Island" plan could be a scam to get money out of young people, but this is unproven speculation. On May 3rd, /r/reddit_island^[11] moderator u/therealgryphter made a post to the subreddit clarifying that Reddit Island is not a scam.

We should try to get Elon to buy us an islahd He's a billionare that uses reddit and he could be the president

On May 4th, the official website^[10] for Reddit Island launched. On the same day, Twitter^[15] page "Images That Make You Feel Pain" posted a meme making fun of Reddit Island, garnering over 35,800 likes and 1,900 retweets in a day (shown below).

Reddit Island Language: Memeglish Currency: Dogecoin President: Keanu Reeves National Anthem: Never Gonna Give You Up

By May 5th, the subreddit boasted over 26,600 followers. While memes about Reddit Town continued to pop on on /r/memes and other subreddits, the majority began being posted to /r/Reddit_Island, many making self-deprecating jokes about Redditor stereotypes and the plan being a Reddit Moment (examples shown below, left and right).

Reddit needing money for an island Me trying to save money for college

Republicans: if you don't like America, you can just leave! Reddit: buys island Republicans: made with mematic

Reddit Town

On May 5th, the /r/Reddit_Island^[12] moderators, at the suggestion of u/SoBadAtThis2017, pinned a post suggesting they buy a town rather than an island as it would be cheaper, as well as easier to establish and visit (shown below). They also pinned a poll^[13] for users to vote on whether they'd prefer a town or island.

BIG PLANS OFFICIAL MOD Hello everyone. We, the mods, had a big idea for how to move forward with this project. Good ideas grow and change to fit their needs, and we realized that the island idea may be a bit impractical. We wanted to continue with the spirit of this idea in a way we thought was even better. We thought, why buy an tiny little island, wihen you can have a whole town? That's right, a town! Towns are actually often cheaper than islands but with much more land. You would be able to live and work there if you wanted to, and more of you would be able to visit. It's much easier to travel across the country (granted you live in the US) than it is to get to a remote little island. A lot of the ideas that you all had for the island would easily be able to transfer over to the town. We think that this is the best option, but we wanted your input. We will be posting a poll where you can vote to keep the island idea, or vote for our new idea of buying a town. We are really excited about this idea, and we hope you share our enthusiasm! **also, I'd like to give credit for this idea to u/SoBadAtThis2017

A Reddit Town subreddit exists at /r/reddittown,^[14] created prior to this idea to plan a previous "Reddit town" project that did not pan out. Users began posting memes about Reddit Town that day (examples shown below).

LEFT EXIT 12 BUYING BUYING AN A TOWN ISLAND EASE SEct REDDIT made with mematic

The poll received over 500 votes in three hours, with votes to stick with a Reddit Island slightly edging out votes for a Reddit Town. On the same day, u/SoBadAtThis27, a "board member" of the subreddit, made a comment^[16] under the poll explaining why a town might be a better idea (shown below).

SoBadAtThis2017 Board member 3 hours ago Having a town just makes more sense. It's a more logical move to make a difference. The island is cool and all but how are YOU actually going to be able to be involved? Can you afford the average 500,000 USD that it takes to obtain citizenship in a different country? Because truth be told only about 0.02% of the members on here do. With a town, you have options. Don't live in the US, or don't want to come to US, we can help create Sister Cities all over the world. Be Realistic in Your Expectations! People need housing options, jobs, careers, culture, restaurants, cafés, resources and growth opportunities. A town makes sense for those. Even if Daddy Elon get involved with an island, then what? You think he's going to pay for 25,000 people to just go there at a half million dollars each. No, no he won't. This has been about making a difference and creating a lasting impact, this is our chance to keep the momentum going! Reply Give Award Share Report Save therealgryphter Board member 3 hours ago I need a thousand more upvotes to give this comment. Going from a remote island to a town makes it so we can actually DO this, achieve something incredible, and make a difference. So many of us could just take a road trip to the town, and we'll do what we need to do to make sure everyone is welcome and safe. Reply Give Award Share Report Save

Island Owner u/IslandOwnerAlt Offers Location

On May 25th, 2021, Redditor u/IslandOwnerAlt made a post to /r/Reddit_island^[17] titled, "Island Owner Here," in which he describes how he owns a small island roughly 120 acres in size that he inherited from his grandfather. He then says he's willing to build a community for Redditors on it if people are willing to fund construction and legal costs (shown below). The post gained over 1,700 upvotes in two days and the user was made a "board member," the sub's label for mods. The island is located in Cuba.^[18]

Posted by u/IslandownerAlt Board member 1 day ago O 2 10 e6 38 D & 12 Island Owner Here Throwaway account for privacy reasons. I've been reading about your attempts to buy either an island or town, and I think I might be able to help you guys out. I own a small island (about 120 acres) that my grandfather purchased about 40 years ago. As of right now, I only have a small cabin built on it and it's been a dream of mine to build a community there for several years now. If you guys are willing to help fund any construction or legal costs, I'd be happy to help set up a self- sufficient society of redditors there. Please DM me if you're interested, mods.

Reddit Island hopefuls showed their support for the island owner in the comments and celebrated the new development. Over the course of the next few days, /r/Reddit_island^[19]^[20] users began posting memes referencing the island owner as their savior (examples shown below, left and right).

R/REDDIT_ISLAND Oh, I... I thought you were dead. THE ISLAND OWNER My death was... greatly exaggerated. T EL

r/Reddit Island There is no news. There is no good or bad. 1 day ago r/Reddit_Island - Posted by u/IslandownerAlt Board member 1.5k O & 210 e 68 A 10 4 Island Owner Here Throwaway account for privacy reasons. I've been reading about your attempts to buy either an island or town, and I think I might be able to help you guys out. I own a small island (about 120 acres) that my grandfather purchased about 40 years ago. As of right now, I only have a small cabin built on it and it's been a dream of mine to build a community there for several years now. If you guys are willing to help fund any construction or legal costs, I'd be happy to help set up a self- sufficient society of redditors there. Please DM me if you're interested, mods. O Hide J Report 99% Upv E Award Share A Save O 152 Comments r/Reddit_Island your mom was made with mematic That is good news.

On May 26th, u/ButtonDasher posted a meme to /r/Reddit_island^[21] voicing concern over the island being in Cuba (shown below, left).

Redditors finnaly make the island habitable and self sustainable The Cuban Regime: Wouldn't that make it OUR ISLAND

On the same day, u/Flimsy-Oil-7634 made a post to /r/Reddit_island^[22] titled, "What we start with, lets get on track," in which he says he has done some "studying" on u/IslandOwnerAlt and found what he claims to be the Cuban island in question, named "Cayo La Hoya," revealing it to be covered in trees and largely made up of beach (shown below). The user details how they're trying to get legal information regarding building on the island from u/IslandOwnerAlt, and mentions how they will need to do some major work on the land before building, such as cutting down trees.

Mapcarta North America Caribbean Cuba Cayo La Hoya Cayo La Hoya, island, is in Cuba. Cayo La Hoya is southeast of Key Segundo. Сayo Rabihorcado map Photo map satellite How to get there OpenStreetMap > Bing Maps Google Maps M MapQuest Here WeGo guy: island Location: Cuba, Caribbean, North America latitude longitude -82,7591 or 82 degrees 45' 32.6" Cayo Segundo 22.2736 or 22o 16' 24.8" north west altitude OpenStreetMap ID 6 meters (20 feet) node 489469560 Cayo La Hoya GeoNames ID 3556872 mapbox 1 km + I

The user provides a list of priorities in the post, which are as follows:

First Priority:
Sort everything out legally ( land rights, land geography, environmental laws)
Poll for people who would want to commit and dedicate to this island (needs to be made)
Poll for locations of various major city structures (town hall, community center) (needs to be made)
Poll for various other subjects (do people have boats, power tools, ways of getting here) (needs to be made)

Second Priority:
Funding for everything
Power tools + gasoline/power (to start making buildable property)
People to build water pumps and purifiers
Tents/temporary shelter establishment
A lot of non-perishable food for nourishment
ferries to transport needed resources to island (any boat will do)
establish an office in a closeby town (I recommend Nueva Gerona, Cuba)
Sort everything out legally
Volunteer Police (with previous experience)
Toilets/waste disposal
Cellular reception

Third Priority:
Basic laws (will be discussed in another post)
Basic and complex shelter (non-tent)
Community center
Town Hall
Establishing frequent food deliveries from nearby islands and continents
Internet with VPN (due to censorship)

u/IslandOwnerAlt Scams Users

u/IslandOwnerAlt began asking users of the subreddit for donations through PayPal, accruing between $500 to $700. On May 30th, 2021, Redditor u/Just_0_Duck posted a screenshot^[23] of a DM conversation with u/IslandOwnerAlt where the user reveals he scammed the users, gaining over 660 upvotes in a year (shown below, left). Users were alerted to the scam after asking u/IslandOwnerAlt for proof of the island, to which he shared a fake document (shown below, right).^[24] According to u/MrNoName_ishere, the sub lost a significant number of members and support after the scam.

Just_0_Duck 6:34 AM Is it true? Have we been fooled? IslandOwnerAlt 6:44 AM Yep. U f--- got scammed big time Just_0_Duck 6:46 AM Sick Have an absolutely horrible day.

TÍTULO DE PROPIEDAD the Grantor, who KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESETS that claims title by or through instrument recorded in instrument number V 205, P 557, Havana City Recorder's Office, for the consideration of Eighty Five Million Pesos USD, 700 is (P85.000.000) received to the full satisfaction of worth Jack s---. MAILING ADDRESS will be Translates to 3542530.13 the Grantee, whose TAX his Gives, Grants, Bargains, Sells and Conveys unto the said Grantee heirs and assigns, the following described premises: SITUATED IN THE LAS TUNAS PROVINCE, POSTAGE AND COUNTRY OF CUBA, AND BEING PART OF LOT 33 AND FURTHER DESCRIBED AS AN ISLAND, SITUATED WITHIN THE GULF OF BATABANO, 24 KILOMETERS 178° SOUTH OF CAIJO BEACH, 21.9922994 NORTH AND Takes you to a field in 81.7013939 WEST: CONTAINING 155.32 ACRES AS SURVEYED MY MIGUEL D. RAMOS, Ghutel Chhattisgarh REGISTERED SURVEYOR NO. 4825. *BY 495334, India. Also known as: Cayo Rabihorcado. Be the same more or less, but subject to all legal highways. To have and to hold the above granted and bargained premises, with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said Grant k, his heirs and assigns forever. And,, and adminis he said Grants for himself and his heirs, executors. ans with the said Grantee his heirs and assigns, that at and until the ensealing of these presents, he is Wen served of the above described premises, as a good and indefeasible estate in FEE SIMPLE, and has good right to bargain and sell the same in manner and form as above written, and that the same are free from all encumbrances whatsoever And that I will Warrant and Defend said premises, with the thereunto belonging, to the said Granted appurtenances s heirs and assigns, all his right and expectancy of Dower in the above described premises. In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, the day of February in the year of our lord Two Thousand and Seven. It's 2021, idiot. Carlos It's pretty f------ clear you either typed this up yourself, or used a s----- copy paste from the internet. Clara

On July 7th, YouTuber Ghost Cum posted a video titled "The Failure of Reddit Island" about the scam, gaining over 1.2 million views in a year (shown below).

u/CryptoDawn's 'Bit Bastion' Proposition

On April 13th, 2022, Redditor u/CryptoDawn made a post to /r/Reddit_Island^[25] and several other crypto and libertartian subreddits claiming to have spent the last five years in a Honduras prison for trying to start a libertarian nation run on Crypto. CryptoDawn expresses an interest in funding the project and moving people there, possibly setting up Reddit Island on an oil rig similar to Sealand. On April 24th, the user made another post to /r/Reddit_island^[26] laying out a plan for the island, which was pinned to the board by the moderators. The plan received mixed reactions, some finding it unfeasible and some in support of it. Know Your Meme published an editorial investigating the user and situation in May 2022.^[27]

u/CryptoDawn's September 2022 Update

On September 5th, 2022, u/CryptoDawn posted an update to /r/Reddit_Island about the status of the island. In the post, the user writes that he's "closing in on getting an island we can use for our first attempt" and that he'll be "personally funding the travel of about 100 people to the island." He writes that he is not accepting donations and that he wants users who are "100% committed to go to the island" to respond to the post so he can start a screening process. The post ends by explaining how the people chosen to go to the island will be filmed and livestreamed to provide "entertainment and […] funding." He also says he's "working on a streaming/tv deal that would provide the island with an income stream to help the island and its inhabitants progress." The post gained over 150 upvotes and 35 comments in two days, some praising the idea and others continuing to speculate that the user is a scammer.

Various Examples

I made an askreddit question OF Ber Sanders.com I turn it into a meme, that creates this sub OF Bernie om The sub ends up getting over 20k members Berni com It gets popular enough that Elon nie Musk contacted one of the mods 776

Actual photo of Reddit Island: made with mematic

Redditors in 200 years when they buy a planet because of a meme Reddit shall be reformed into the first galactic ernojre

MrBeast: *Buys island* Redditors: Pathetic.

Parents: Why are you packing your bags to go to some place called memeland? Me: My goals are beyond your understanding.

Search Interest

External References

^[1] Reddit – There are multiple islands on sale right now. What's stopping a group of Redditors from coming together and buying at least 1 of them?

^[2] Reddit – What have we done

^[3] Reddit – redditisland

^[4] Reddit – Time to apply for citizenship

^[5] Reddit – Elon Musk wants to talk

^[6] Reddit – What if we asked Elon Musk for money? He is rich so I would assume he could help us buy an island. Someone please tell Elon about this.

^[7] Reddit – A Reddit island where Musk is the president? Yeah I'll pass.

^[8] Reddit – I bet you won't do it

^[9] iFunny – multiple islands

^[10] island.grahhnt – Reddit Island Official Website

^[11] Reddit – A word on scams

^[12] Reddit – BIG PLANS

^[13] Reddit – Would you like to keep the island idea, or buy a town instead?

^[14] Reddit – /r/reddittown

^[15] Twitter – image that make you feel pain

^[16] Reddit – Having a town just makes more sense

^[17] Reddit – Island Owner Here

^[18] Reddit – Cuba

^[19] Reddit – Hope has arrived!

^[20] Reddit – He is the messiah

^[21] Reddit – Just sharing a concern…

^[22] Reddit – What we start with, lets get on track

^[23] Reddit – I was unsure

^[24] Reddit – iterally everything wrong

^[25] Reddit – 5 years

^[26] Reddit – Plan for

^[27] KYM – a year after getting scammed…

Related Entries 99 total

Recent Images 49 total

r/CryptoCurrency. Posted by u/CryptoDawn 6 years ago Join Bit Bastion a decentralized Government and Nation creation platform utilizing crypto currency. Politics bitbastion.com/ 1 Comment Award Share Save Br/btc Posted by u/CryptoDawn 6 years ago Join 2 Bit Bastion a decentralized Government and Nation creation platform utilizing Bitcoin. bitbastion.com/ 1 Comment Award Share Save Br/Bitcoin Posted by u/CryptoDawn 6 years ago Join 1 Bit Bastion a decentralized Government and Nation creation platform utilizing Bitcoin. bitbastion.com/ Award Share Save 1 Comment

r/Reddit Island Posted by u/Private Pickle109 3 months ago It won't happen but I think if there is an island it should be like this. peza

View All Images

Recent Videos 0 total

There are no recent videos.

Load 45 Comments

Reddit Island / Memeland

Part of a series on Reddit. [View Related Entries]

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!

You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.

About

Origin

Plans to buy an island for Redditors were first explored by u/matude in 2010, who created the subreddit /r/RedditIsland^[3] to plan the project. The project was abandoned in 2016.

On the same day, MrNoName_ishere and a number of other Redditors created the /r/Reddit_Island subreddit, gaining over 25,000 members in three days.