4 ms·

Maybe I'm old, but I immediately assumed this was an OS built around the Gopher-protocol[1], whatever that would mean in practice. Gopher is already an establi

Maybe I'm old, but I immediately assumed this was an OS built around the Gopher-protocol[1], whatever that would mean in practice. Gopher is already an established name, so the naming seems a bit unfortunate. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)

Jaruzel 9y ago
The subsummation of the word 'Gopher' into the Go language eco-sphere irritates me also. I believe it has something to do with the Language having adopted the Gopher (animal) as their mascot? Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product. Gopher the protocol maybe niche these days, but it's not dead. The continued use of the term 'Gopher-XYZ' by the Go language people will only accelerate the death of the Gopher protocol, which although inevitable it does not mean it should be erased from history by something else.
- canes123456 9y ago
  There a tons of name conflicts for things that are more popular than the gopher protocol. If the creators wanted to avoid this they need to pick a unique name.
  - treve 9y ago
    My pet peeve is Atom the protocol and Atom the text editor. They're obscuring a format and a protocol that's much more important for the web than another text editor is, and they're doing the world a disfavor as a result.
    - elinchrome 9y ago
      Even worse is when Justin Timberlake did that song "Cry Me A River", when there was already an excellent song by the same name. It just obscures the existing song, and does the world a disservice.
      - treve 9y ago
        Pretty rude way to disagree with someone. I'd appreciate any criticism, but not sure what I'm supposed to do with this comment, other than feeling bad.
        kminehart 9y ago
        I'm getting the impression that he wasn't actually telling you to "cry him a river".
        justbaker 9y ago
        perhaps, have a laugh?
    - edoceo 9y ago
      And I've been using Atom as my default username on local Linux installs since 2001. So now I invoke my user installed editor as /home/atom/opt/Atom/bin/atom And to check it's running? NP! Just use `ps -eF|grep -i atom` We need more letters
- hdjddjtjtj55 9y ago
  "Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product." Just because you think that doesn't mean they can't. Since when was the rest of the world obliged to follow your rules? Besides, I doubt the world is about to ditch the usual operating systems for Gopher OS. Is this really a problem?
- nawgszy 9y ago
  >which although inevitable it does not mean it should be erased from history by something else Why do you think it's inevitable, if not exactly because it is to be erased by something else?
- mhd 9y ago
  > Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product. I get that each time a "ML" link is posted here. Sadly it's almost never about the various successors of Miranda.
- vorg 9y ago
  There were many similar complaints when the Go language itself was announced, there already being a programming language named "Go!"
  - jhbadger 9y ago
    And also a 2500+ year old Chinese board game, generally referred to in English by its Japanese name (Go). Although the ambiguity of the name is beginning to popularize its Korean name, baduk (as in /r/baduk)
weberc2 9y ago
So was windows, but that didn't stop Microsoft. ;)
- ajmarsh 9y ago
  Or the 3 or 4 competing apps named "paper."
tomphoolery 9y ago
The worst part about the GOPHER protocol is that actual Gophers couldn't even use it, because they don't have opposable thumbs! Yet another instance of the programmer establishment thinking they know what's best for everyone...
- rkeene2 9y ago
  This is a common misconception. The GOPHER protocol (RFC 1436) does not actually require the use of opposable thumbs, it's just a common implementation detail to do so.
IshKebab 9y ago
Even worse, there's already an animal called a Gopher! Oh the confusion... /s
mirekrusin 9y ago
Bikeshedding, we can also start discussing why `println` doesn't print anything on the printer, apple doesn't sell any fruits and their ipad is not really targeted to women during period, microsoft has no double glazed windows offers, oracle without cloud based prophecy api and why ml lang and machine learning are stealing established, widely deployed in most kitchens millilitres measure - nobody gives a crap.
- tdeck 9y ago
  nit: println does indeed print if you're using a teletype. The fact that you're probably not using a teletype is simply a matter of preference on your part.
  - chuckdries 9y ago
    Out of sheer curiosity, what would it take to hook up a real teletype to my computer today? What physical port would it even use?
    - skissane 9y ago
      Teletypes used 20mA current loops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_current_loop_interface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_current_loop_interface Teletype current loop ports were common on machines up to the 1970s, but by the 1980s had largely disappeared. The serial port card on the original IBM PC and the XT had 20mA current loop support, but it was very rarely used, so AT machines onward removed it. (MIDI is also a current loop, but MIDI uses 5mA rather than 20mA, plus the protocol is different.) You should be able to connect a teletype to a modern computer by using two conversion devices, one USB-to-RS232 and the other RS232-to-20mA-current-loop. Then the teletype will appear to the computer as a (very dumb) serial terminal.
sedatk 9y ago
There was already a programming language called "Go" before Go, so I'd say this is actually the customary way.

Jaruzel 9y ago

The subsummation of the word 'Gopher' into the Go language eco-sphere irritates me also. I believe it has something to do with the Language having adopted the Gopher (animal) as their mascot? Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product. Gopher the protocol maybe niche these days, but it's not dead. The continued use of the term 'Gopher-XYZ' by the Go language people will only accelerate the death of the Gopher protocol, which although inevitable it does not mean it should be erased from history by something else.

canes123456 9y ago
There a tons of name conflicts for things that are more popular than the gopher protocol. If the creators wanted to avoid this they need to pick a unique name.
- treve 9y ago
  My pet peeve is Atom the protocol and Atom the text editor. They're obscuring a format and a protocol that's much more important for the web than another text editor is, and they're doing the world a disfavor as a result.
  - elinchrome 9y ago
    Even worse is when Justin Timberlake did that song "Cry Me A River", when there was already an excellent song by the same name. It just obscures the existing song, and does the world a disservice.
    - treve 9y ago
      Pretty rude way to disagree with someone. I'd appreciate any criticism, but not sure what I'm supposed to do with this comment, other than feeling bad.
      - kminehart 9y ago
        I'm getting the impression that he wasn't actually telling you to "cry him a river".
      - justbaker 9y ago
        perhaps, have a laugh?
  - edoceo 9y ago
    And I've been using Atom as my default username on local Linux installs since 2001. So now I invoke my user installed editor as /home/atom/opt/Atom/bin/atom And to check it's running? NP! Just use `ps -eF|grep -i atom` We need more letters
hdjddjtjtj55 9y ago
"Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product." Just because you think that doesn't mean they can't. Since when was the rest of the world obliged to follow your rules? Besides, I doubt the world is about to ditch the usual operating systems for Gopher OS. Is this really a problem?
nawgszy 9y ago
>which although inevitable it does not mean it should be erased from history by something else Why do you think it's inevitable, if not exactly because it is to be erased by something else?
mhd 9y ago
> Just because something is no longer in common/widespread use, does not mean you can come along and use its meaning or name on your shiny new product. I get that each time a "ML" link is posted here. Sadly it's almost never about the various successors of Miranda.
vorg 9y ago
There were many similar complaints when the Go language itself was announced, there already being a programming language named "Go!"
- jhbadger 9y ago
  And also a 2500+ year old Chinese board game, generally referred to in English by its Japanese name (Go). Although the ambiguity of the name is beginning to popularize its Korean name, baduk (as in /r/baduk)

weberc2 9y ago

So was windows, but that didn't stop Microsoft. ;)

ajmarsh 9y ago
Or the 3 or 4 competing apps named "paper."

tomphoolery 9y ago

The worst part about the GOPHER protocol is that actual Gophers couldn't even use it, because they don't have opposable thumbs! Yet another instance of the programmer establishment thinking they know what's best for everyone...

rkeene2 9y ago
This is a common misconception. The GOPHER protocol (RFC 1436) does not actually require the use of opposable thumbs, it's just a common implementation detail to do so.

IshKebab 9y ago

Even worse, there's already an animal called a Gopher! Oh the confusion... /s

mirekrusin 9y ago

Bikeshedding, we can also start discussing why `println` doesn't print anything on the printer, apple doesn't sell any fruits and their ipad is not really targeted to women during period, microsoft has no double glazed windows offers, oracle without cloud based prophecy api and why ml lang and machine learning are stealing established, widely deployed in most kitchens millilitres measure - nobody gives a crap.

tdeck 9y ago
nit: println does indeed print if you're using a teletype. The fact that you're probably not using a teletype is simply a matter of preference on your part.
- chuckdries 9y ago
  Out of sheer curiosity, what would it take to hook up a real teletype to my computer today? What physical port would it even use?
  - skissane 9y ago
    Teletypes used 20mA current loops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_current_loop_interface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_current_loop_interface Teletype current loop ports were common on machines up to the 1970s, but by the 1980s had largely disappeared. The serial port card on the original IBM PC and the XT had 20mA current loop support, but it was very rarely used, so AT machines onward removed it. (MIDI is also a current loop, but MIDI uses 5mA rather than 20mA, plus the protocol is different.) You should be able to connect a teletype to a modern computer by using two conversion devices, one USB-to-RS232 and the other RS232-to-20mA-current-loop. Then the teletype will appear to the computer as a (very dumb) serial terminal.

sedatk 9y ago

There was already a programming language called "Go" before Go, so I'd say this is actually the customary way.