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I have nitpicks and criticisms about Gemini, and it's not a protocol that I use very often (if at all), but I also don't see the harm in it. It seems to have a

I have nitpicks and criticisms about Gemini, and it's not a protocol that I use very often (if at all), but I also don't see the harm in it. It seems to have a pretty strong grasp of what its goals are and (minor criticisms aside) it does a decent job of accomplishing those goals. Nowadays I tend to compare Gemini more to things like Pico-8 or Markdown rather than think of it as a web competitor -- and as a result I've started to develop a lot more respect for the project. It's not designed to replace the web or revolutionize how people share content, it's designed to be a useful medium for the community that uses it. All that to say, I'm not sure I understand the criticism I'm seeing here. A Lynx-like browser with proper graphical mouse support and a couple of extras built in is a fine project. And support for Gemini/Markdown gives the browser a clear use-case beyond HTML that means it'll be practically useful for some people; it's not just an experiment in failing to render most websites because it doesn't support CSS, there's a category of content that you know will work, and a community of people making that content. That's assuming it works well, but if it does -- I don't know, seems like a cool project? It's good to have more Gemini clients.

canadianfella 4y ago
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leidenfrost 4y ago
I think of Gemini less like a competitor to the web but more as ham radio. Radio amateurs can communicate through the internet with their phones and it would be faster, simpler and easier. But radio gives them both the nostalgia feeling and a niche community to belong. Gemini is kinda like that.
- danShumway 4y ago
  I don't use Pico-8, and I find its limitations frustrating; I am never going to make a game in Pico-8. But I do use stuff like Jummbox when I compose music, for basically the same exact reasons other devs use Pico-8 for games, and I love Jummbox's limitations for music composition. Limitations are a way of fostering community (ham radio enthusiasts all kind of get to know local operators, Jummbox makes sharing song sources in a digestible way super-easy). Limitations also allow you to not care about complications that would be barriers to building things -- I don't want to set up a VST before I start writing music. So my feeling on Gemini has shifted from being a curmudgeon about honestly kind of really nitpicky, shallow stuff like the ability to mark-up inline language transitions -- into realizing that when you step away from thinking of the project as some kind of attack on the web then yeah, it actually makes a ton of sense to build a small community around a very limited format that forces everyone in that community to be standardized in how they share with each other, keeps the community a little bit niche so that the people in it are a bit more friendly and personable, and forces its participants to focus pretty much only on what they're writing and nothing else.
  - marcinreal 4y ago
    Thanks for mentioning Jummbox, I was just looking for something like that! Though I'll start with Beepbox since it looks even more constrained.
- GnarfGnarf 4y ago
  Radio Amateurs will be indispensable when the next CME (Corona Mass Ejection) annihilates our grid and the Internet. Look up "Carrington Event".
Shared404 4y ago
> Nowadays I tend to compare Gemini more to things like Pico-8 or Markdown rather than think of it as a web competitor That's also how Gemini thinks of itself. I'm a fan personally, I'm all for projects that just go and do their own thing and do it well.

canadianfella 4y ago

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leidenfrost 4y ago

I think of Gemini less like a competitor to the web but more as ham radio. Radio amateurs can communicate through the internet with their phones and it would be faster, simpler and easier. But radio gives them both the nostalgia feeling and a niche community to belong. Gemini is kinda like that.

danShumway 4y ago
I don't use Pico-8, and I find its limitations frustrating; I am never going to make a game in Pico-8. But I do use stuff like Jummbox when I compose music, for basically the same exact reasons other devs use Pico-8 for games, and I love Jummbox's limitations for music composition. Limitations are a way of fostering community (ham radio enthusiasts all kind of get to know local operators, Jummbox makes sharing song sources in a digestible way super-easy). Limitations also allow you to not care about complications that would be barriers to building things -- I don't want to set up a VST before I start writing music. So my feeling on Gemini has shifted from being a curmudgeon about honestly kind of really nitpicky, shallow stuff like the ability to mark-up inline language transitions -- into realizing that when you step away from thinking of the project as some kind of attack on the web then yeah, it actually makes a ton of sense to build a small community around a very limited format that forces everyone in that community to be standardized in how they share with each other, keeps the community a little bit niche so that the people in it are a bit more friendly and personable, and forces its participants to focus pretty much only on what they're writing and nothing else.
- marcinreal 4y ago
  Thanks for mentioning Jummbox, I was just looking for something like that! Though I'll start with Beepbox since it looks even more constrained.
GnarfGnarf 4y ago
Radio Amateurs will be indispensable when the next CME (Corona Mass Ejection) annihilates our grid and the Internet. Look up "Carrington Event".

Shared404 4y ago

> Nowadays I tend to compare Gemini more to things like Pico-8 or Markdown rather than think of it as a web competitor That's also how Gemini thinks of itself. I'm a fan personally, I'm all for projects that just go and do their own thing and do it well.