3 ms·

How is Gemini a "proprietary" protocol? The protocol specification is entirely out there in the open. [0] [0] https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/specificati

by shakna 5y ago

How is Gemini a "proprietary" protocol? The protocol specification is entirely out there in the open. [0] [0] https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/specification.gmi https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/specification.gmi

snvzz 5y ago
I never said closed. I said proprietary. Relative to software licenses, this would be the sort where the source code is there and you can read it, but that is all i.e. not Open Source nor Free Software. It is not specified by a standards board or the like. It is an immutable protocol made by somebody's whim. And it isn't very good. An example: It will never have a header with the size of the payload. The only way you will find out is by downloading the whole payload.
- shakna 5y ago
  Okay, if we go with proprietary meaning strictly sole developer, and ignore that it has been developed with a community, first by mailing list, and now on Usenet [0]... Gemini was first published roughly in 2019. At about three years old, what protocol has a standards board? It's too young. It took C roughly 17 years to get a standards body. It took Gopher three years to get the first RFC [1]. Was it a proprietary protocol? It was the same age as Gemini currently is. [0] https://web.archive.org/web/20211026220037/https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2021/007388.html#%3C704705533.350997.1635162832645@ichabod.co-bxl%3E https://web.archive.org/web/20211026220037/https://lists.orb... [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1436 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1436
  - snvzz 5y ago
    >At about three years old, what protocol has a standards board? It's too young. Your point is moot due to Gemini's immutability. It isn't a protocol carefully designed by a committee. It is just somebody's brain fart. It cannot be fixed and we are giving it too much attention.
    - knowledge-clay 5y ago
      > It isn't a protocol carefully designed by a committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_by_committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_by_committee
- xigoi 5y ago
  Standardized specifications are usually expensive to read, making them inaccessible to hobbyist developers. The Gemini specification is free.

by shakna 5y ago

snvzz 5y ago

I never said closed. I said proprietary. Relative to software licenses, this would be the sort where the source code is there and you can read it, but that is all i.e. not Open Source nor Free Software. It is not specified by a standards board or the like. It is an immutable protocol made by somebody's whim. And it isn't very good. An example: It will never have a header with the size of the payload. The only way you will find out is by downloading the whole payload.

shakna 5y ago
Okay, if we go with proprietary meaning strictly sole developer, and ignore that it has been developed with a community, first by mailing list, and now on Usenet [0]... Gemini was first published roughly in 2019. At about three years old, what protocol has a standards board? It's too young. It took C roughly 17 years to get a standards body. It took Gopher three years to get the first RFC [1]. Was it a proprietary protocol? It was the same age as Gemini currently is. [0] https://web.archive.org/web/20211026220037/https://lists.orbitalfox.eu/archives/gemini/2021/007388.html#%3C704705533.350997.1635162832645@ichabod.co-bxl%3E https://web.archive.org/web/20211026220037/https://lists.orb... [1] https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1436 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1436
- snvzz 5y ago
  >At about three years old, what protocol has a standards board? It's too young. Your point is moot due to Gemini's immutability. It isn't a protocol carefully designed by a committee. It is just somebody's brain fart. It cannot be fixed and we are giving it too much attention.
  - knowledge-clay 5y ago
    > It isn't a protocol carefully designed by a committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_by_committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_by_committee
xigoi 5y ago
Standardized specifications are usually expensive to read, making them inaccessible to hobbyist developers. The Gemini specification is free.