Project Gemini
geminiprotocol.net

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/24735701

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)

It is similar to the old gopher: text files, links, and images form a hypertext optimized for reading. Text is formatted like Markdown - but even simpler.

Clients display text, like an eBook, or images / media.

Servers can run on a PC or Raspberry Pi which needs half a Watt of power. No FAANG companies needed. No expert knowledge needed - not more difficult than running a file sharing client.

I think it is the right thing for defense of democracy and sharing your voice in the digital realm.

Edit: If you see comments here which kinda miss the point, appeal to emotions, have faulty logic, or depart from entirely incorrect assumptions: Please keep in mind that big US tech companies can’t say “that’s bad, how will we shovel money with this?”. Please use your critical thinking skills - they are much needed here!

  • HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.orgOP
    10·
    1 day ago

    See also point 1.1.2 in the FAQ:

    1.1.2 The gentler answer for everybody else

    Gemini is a group of technologies similar to the ones that lie behind your familiar web browser. Using Gemini, you can explore an online collection of written documents which can link to other written documents. The main difference is that Gemini approaches this task with a strong philosophy of “keep it simple” and “less is enough”. This allows Gemini to simply sidestep, rather than try and probably fail to solve, many of the problems plaguing the modern web, which just seem to get worse and worse no matter how many browser add-ons or well meaning regulations get thrown at them.

    Gemini might be of interest to you if you:

    • Value your privacy and are opposed to the web’s ubiquitous tracking of users Value your attention and your time and want to read with deep focus, free from distractions
    • Are sick and tired of nagging newsletter subscription pop-ups, obnoxious adverts, autoplaying videos that chase you as you scroll and other misfeatures of the modern web
    • Live somewhere with slow internet, can’t afford fast internet, or live off-grid and need to conserve precious battery power and minimise expensive satellite data use
    • Are a hobbyist programmer with a “do it yourself” attitude who enjoys building their own tools and getting real use out of them every day

    If multiple points above apply to you and you’ve been finding the web an increasingly unpleasant place for several years, Gemini might feel like a real breath of fresh air, even an oasis - but it’s not necessarily for everybody. In order to make sure that Gemini remains a simple, lightweight technology which respects its users’ privacy and autonomy not just now but into the future, the feature set has been deliberately kept quite minimal. It’s definitely not too minimal to be useful, but it certainly can’t do everything you might be used to, and maybe it’s missing something that’s a deal-breaker for you. Keep an open mind, give it a try, and see how you feel. Plenty of people have been surprised at how quickly they stop missing things they thought they couldn’t live without!

    • HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.orgOP
      2·
      24 hours ago

      Another advantage: The active Gemini user community might be small (it is maybe five thousand or ten thousand people). But compared to personal pages on Facebook or Microblog on Ex-Twitter, or Reddit or LinkedIn it has pretty high-quality content from people who like to write in long form, and also like to read. If you write there, the response / resonance will be more like what blogs or LiveJournal was around 2005. A part of this is that many people write in a personal, candid and thoughtful way. Like that Israeli evironmental engineer who wrote how much he hated to be conscripted for military service. And writing is also self-reflection. Like having a rare view into other peoples mind. ou do not find that on facebook.