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Six Years of Gemini

geminiprotocol.net

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Re: Six Years of Gemini

#21

Post by ilaksh »

I think Gemini is a step in the right direction for some things. I usually mention my "tersenet" ideas when I see Gemini. Now that we have the Gemini LLM and Claude etc. there is less excuse for me to not finish any real software demo for it. Maybe one these days I will make an actual client for part of it.

I think there is room for things like media and applications even on an idealized web. But they should not necessarily be combined along with information browsing and search into one thing.

https://github.com/runvnc/tersenet

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#22

Post by mattkevan »

sneak wrote: post #16
fishgoesblub wrote: post #11

It was sad seeing the hate for it on here when it was new-ish, and while I haven't used it in a while, I'm glad to see it still kicking around. Such a neat and fun project.

I don’t hate it, but I question the use. You can use HTTP to do what it does, but better. The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. HTTP is great, and deserves our time and attention. I get that they seem upset with the modern web, and I am too - but it isn’t HTTP’s fault. It’s the sites you visit. If you want to build new and smaller commun…

I’ve been exploring this problem for a while, and have been building something which I think might help solve it.

I’m currently building a browser-based static site generator that produces clean, simple code. But it does more than that.

Alongside the generated HTML, sites also publish their public configuration and source files, meaning they can be viewed in more than just a browser, for example in a CLI or accessibility device.

The client interface is also more than a CMS - you’ll be able to follow other sites, subscribing to updates, and build a network rather like a webring. The idea is to provide human-powered discovery and community tools. The reach may be less than if algorithmic, but it’s designed for genuine connection, not virality.

As the client is smart but sites are simple, sites can be hosted on anything, from the cheapest shared host up.

I’d be happy to talk further if that’s interesting in any way.

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#23

Post by sneak »

MrVandemar wrote: post #20
sneak wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t hate it, but I question the use. You can use HTTP to do what it does, but better. The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. HTTP is great, and deserves our time and attention. I get that they seem upset with the modern web, and I am too - but it isn’t HTTP’s fault. It’s the sites you visit. If you want to build new and smaller commun…

> The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. That is a microscopic subset of the modern web. I don't use Gemini— though I am highly tempted —but I expect some of the attraction is that you can click on any link and pretty much guaranteed not to be socked in the face with a sign-up-for-my-newsletter or cookies-accept-all-yes-later or paragraph…

You can achieve that on HTTP with a browser extension or customized browser that checks for certain tags in the page, or disables certain features altogether. It isn’t the transport’s fault.

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#25

Post by bayindirh »

sneak wrote: post #23
MrVandemar wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. That is a microscopic subset of the modern web. I don't use Gemini— though I am highly tempted —but I expect some of the attraction is that you can click on any link and pretty much guaranteed not to be socked in the face with a sign-up-for-my-newsletter or cookies-accept-all-yes-later or paragraph…

You can achieve that on HTTP with a browser extension or customized browser that checks for certain tags in the page, or disables certain features altogether. It isn’t the transport’s fault.

With all respect, this viewpoint rivals the infamous Dropbox comment.

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#26

Post by rcarmo »

I wrote a server for it a while back (am still running it someplace behind a CF tunnel) but I’ve never really found either the community or the protocol were taking off:

https://github.com/rcarmo/aiogemini

A key issue with the ecosystem (not the protocol) as far as I’m concerned is that it would have been stupendously better to settle on Markdown (even a simplified form) for content creation. The rest is OK, I guess, but it’s just a nuisance to maintain “dual format” sites.

(I see a few comments here about the community’s opinions and leanings, but to be honest it’s not any weirder than your average old-timely IRC channel or fringe Mastodon server—-live and let live, read what you want and just skip Antenna listings you don’t like)

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#27

Post by rglullis »

mattkevan wrote: post #22
sneak wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t hate it, but I question the use. You can use HTTP to do what it does, but better. The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. HTTP is great, and deserves our time and attention. I get that they seem upset with the modern web, and I am too - but it isn’t HTTP’s fault. It’s the sites you visit. If you want to build new and smaller commun…

I’ve been exploring this problem for a while, and have been building something which I think might help solve it. I’m currently building a browser-based static site generator that produces clean, simple code. But it does more than that. Alongside the generated HTML, sites also publish their public configuration and source files, meaning they can be viewed in more than just a browser, for example in a CLI or accessibi…

That sounds a bit like the dat browser, no?

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#28

Post by vouaobrasil »

I love the idea, but it's just to fringe to use for me. But I will say that I think the internet was far better before Google search really became strong, and before the corresponding massive increase in SEO spam.

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#29

Post by _Algernon_ »

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #17
fishgoesblub wrote: post #11

It was sad seeing the hate for it on here when it was new-ish, and while I haven't used it in a while, I'm glad to see it still kicking around. Such a neat and fun project.

Its a fun concept but the community around it had a strong tendency to want to proselytize their values to you. I enjoyed playing around with it in the beginning but it introduced me to too many tech preachers each with their own similar but slightly different philosophies that they felt like I must know about. It may have changed but that's what largely turned me off from it. I find other networking projects to have…

The selection effects of people seeking out something like this are probably intense, but that was also true for the early web, and is what people liked about the early web.

Re: Six Years of Gemini

#30

Post by _Algernon_ »

sneak wrote: post #16
fishgoesblub wrote: post #11

It was sad seeing the hate for it on here when it was new-ish, and while I haven't used it in a while, I'm glad to see it still kicking around. Such a neat and fun project.

I don’t hate it, but I question the use. You can use HTTP to do what it does, but better. The modern web is opt-in. I build and use sites that aren’t SPAs and shitted up with 3p resources and images and code. HTTP is great, and deserves our time and attention. I get that they seem upset with the modern web, and I am too - but it isn’t HTTP’s fault. It’s the sites you visit. If you want to build new and smaller commun…

HTTP is intermingled with a lot of the shitty SPAs, advertising and SEO of the web. You can make a simple text only site but the noise of the modern web is only ever a couple of clicks away. Gemini silos itself off. You know that a link you click will be an equally clean text-first site. To me that is the feature.
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