[talk] Gemini

[Isaac (.ike) Levy]

On Tue, Apr 19, 2022, at 11:32 PM, steve.b at osfda.org wrote:
> A devil's argument I came across that pans it...
>
>> https://xn--gckvb8fzb.com/gemini-is-solutionism-at-its-worst
>> 
> On 4/19/22 11:08 PM, George Rosamond wrote:
>> Anyone tinker with this project? 
>> 
>> https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/faq.gmi 
>> 
>> A lot about it piques my interest... 
>> 
>> g 

Warning, meandering ramble typed while eating lunch:

Super interesting, both posts on this Gemini thing.

That scathing review is *very* interesting read by itself, a breath of fresh air for people (like me), not super excited about the state of the internet.

Yet, as I read this screed, I find myself thinking the *same* things I thought about a super-dumb "website" back in the day called Twitter.  (My disparaging thoughts about Twitter have not changed, but Twitter don't care one bit about me and has done just great by it's own measure...)

Gopher for the 21st centry?
At first glance, open mind, the Gemini project seems interesting, as a way to eject from the ubiquity of 'the web', and simply want to use the internet to distribute "files".  Which, as an idea, I can actually see as *very* powerful- (however, not the same ubiquitious benefit the web has brought).  If you look at the Gemini markup/protocol/blah as merely utility indexes for file sharing, I can imagine some great applied uses.

Example: I grew up with punk/music zines as a teen.  Photocoped cheaply distributed "files", often found in record stores, always cheap.  I can imagine some new world of "Zines distributed as PDF's or even just folders full of jpeg pages."  A new world opens up here for PDF "magazine" distribution, Podcasts are just MP3 files, or video files, whatever.
I mean heck, in a world where the internet delivers content "files" for proprietary platforms, (Netfilix, Hulu, and other big-brand video platforms), I can certainly see room for Gopher-like distribution of files.

I can really dig the idea of "forget the web, but long live the internet", but now on to see how this technology stands up and try it...  hrm...

Best,
.ike