4 ms·

Gemini might go away, but Gopher is forever.

• eddieroger 3y ago
  I don't know, Gopher being removed from Firefox and Chrome over the last few years kinda disagrees with that sentiment.
  • distcs 3y ago
    You can still connect to Gopher server using "proper" Gopher clients, so the parent commenter is still right that Gopher is not going away. But then Gemini too is not going away. These niche protocols will always have their niche communities using their niche clients so they are probably going to survive even if they remain obscure.
  • kristopolous 3y ago
    FTP was even removed 2 years ago. Really, look that up.
    • lolinder 3y ago
      The fact that we'd have to look it up is why it was removed. I haven't used FTP in at least a decade—scp does the trick for my server management needs, HTTP is sufficient for download-only use cases, and Dropbox-style applications have supplanted FTP for shared files. FTP is more general than any of these three replacements, but it isn't ideal for any one of the use cases.
      • Minor49er 3y ago
        I only use X, YouTube, Insta, and TikTok. Browsers should just refuse to connect to any other site besides those
        • lolinder 3y ago
          I take it you have a use case for FTP still that's not yet been supplanted by other, more specialized tools? Please share, rather than snarking.
          • Minor49er 3y ago
            To name a few, I interact with a number of sites on shared hosting that have been using FTP for years. I also work with a data server that primarily interfaces with its data store through FTP. It also used to be easier to just host an FTP server and manage its access independent of a website, but still link to it in a browser where people who are not technically inclined could browse and interact with files without needing a separate dedicated client. Even for me, it would be simpler to just see an FTP file listing in a browser sometimes The point is that browsers used to be able to browse the Internet, but major players such as Google have been working hard to limit all of these things to just HTTPS. Excusing things away by saying "well I don't use it, so it's useless" has only helped to narrow this path
            • mattl 3y ago
              Web browsers aren't internet browsers and shouldn't be. There's way too many things on the internet for them to do a good job anyway.
              • Minor49er 3y ago
                Exactly right. This is why we must continue to fight for our FAANG-only locked-down future!
                • mattl 3y ago
                  Netscape used to come with a browser, a mail client, a newsreader, an HTML editor. We've moved beyond that now, why worry about a browser being able to read Gopherspace or Gemini pages? Putting those into dedicated browsers of their own has been the perceived action for some time.
        • mattl 3y ago
          Web browsers should stick to web browsing and other tools should handle other protocols at this point in time.
• anthk 3y ago
  Actually both communities overlap. Also, Gopher sucks in any device smaller a DEC terminal. Gemini gives you methods to display your media on nearly any size of screen.
  • snvzz 3y ago
    >both communities overlap. The overlap is much smaller than gemini proponents would have you think. E.g. I wouldn't touch gemini with a 15ft pole. >Gemini gives you methods to display your media on nearly any size of screen. But it still requires SSL and it still doesn't tell you the size of the resource you're fetching. The Gemini protocol can't be fixed, as by design it cannot be modified. Overall, Gemini just smells like an expression of the authors' narcissism.
    • anthk 3y ago
      Narcissism, no. Gopher sucks when you can't display it properly in the 99% of the phones out there. Gemini it's like gopher on features plus TLS and not bound to a DEC terminal. And I say this by daily using OpenBSD in a netbook with xterm/tmux as the main interface. On TLS, you can get an RPI far cheaper than a second hand 486 machine back in the day in 2001. Starting from a Pentium MMX (better a Pentium II) you can TLS just fine. Heck, even an Amiga with a 68030 can do TLS with a bit of ptience (few seconds on handshake/deal). And any competent hoster would provide both services for its site, as lots of Gemini users do, not leaving anyone behind. For instance, gopher://midnight.pub and gemini://midnight.pub
• NikkiA 3y ago
  Bah, gopher is just a lousy hytelnet wannabe.