As others are saying, HTML isn't the problem and Gopher isn't the solution: any bidirectional request-response protocol can be used to track clients, because th

As others are saying, HTML isn't the problem and Gopher isn't the solution: any bidirectional request-response protocol can be used to track clients, because there's a record of interactions the server can save. Client-side scripting as now commonly used on the Web increases the likelihood that some of these events occur despite the user's intent, but hosts can track and profile you by IP just fine, and if this hypothetical Gopher revival came to pass, it would also revive an interest in server-side ad serving and log mining that dynamic ads have long made obsolete. The two solutions are to: (a) not interact with hosts who track you -- which is hard to know ahead of time -- or (b) use a one-way broadcast protocol that leaves no ability for hosts to collect an interaction stream. And this exists too, from over-the-air television and radio, to teletext [1] and datacasting [2]. Compare the business models: unencrypted broadcast streams are full of ads too, but you don't get tracked. Or, the services are encrypted and the key exchange is moved out of band; you trade a bit of your privacy to establish an ongoing customer relationship to access gated content. Of course, broadcast on public airwaves is heavily regulated, and broadcast on unlicensed spectrum is sufficiently intertwined with and streamlined into wireless internet to be hidden in plain sight. Despite its technical merits, a broadcast 'renaissance' of sorts isn't likely to attract a discretionary audience without a real integrated commercial offering raising awareness -- amateur radio and tech demos don't have universal appeal, but a sleek device that accesses compelling first-party content in a privacy-preserving way might. But it's also a technical gamble when more proven solutions are less risky, and the kinds of players who deliver integrated offerings can deliver their service over IP with less fuss. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletext https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletext [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datacasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datacasting