Discover quieter, simpler new corners of the Internet with the Gemini protocol.

If you’ve been online a long time ago, or if you’re very knowledgeable, you probably remember an early text sharing protocol called Gopher. Gopher was eventually replaced by the HTTP protocol, which of course is the basis of the modern World Wide Web. For many people, “Internet Internet” and “World Wide Web” are the same thing, because many people are unaware of doing anything on the Web that is not a WWW subdomain.

But there have always been various network protocols sharing information over the Internet: Telnet, FTP, SSH, Torrent, GNUnet, and so on. Recently, another alternative has been added to the list, called Gemini.

The Gemini protocol, named after the space mission between the “Mercury” and “Apollo” foundational experiments, was designed to live peacefully between Gopher and HTTP. It wasn’t intended to replace the modern Web by any means, but it did try to create a simplified Web and a modern Gopher.

Its history, young as it may be, is significant for a number of reasons. Of course, people question the modern Web for technical and philosophical reasons, but it’s just plain bloated. When what you’re really looking for is a solid answer to a very specific question, then countless clicks on a Google search feel like overkill.

Many people use Gopher for this reason: it’s small enough to make niche interests easy to find. However, Gopher is an old protocol that made assumptions about programming, networking and browsing that no longer apply. Gemini’s goal was to bring the best of the web into a format similar to Gopher but easy to program. A simple Gemini browser can be written in a few hundred lines of code, and a very good one is written in about 1600 lines. This is a powerful feature for programmers, students, and minimalists alike.

How to Browse Gemini

Like the early web, Gemini is small, so there is a list of known servers running the Gemini site. Just as you need a Web browser to browse HTTP sites, you need a Gemini browser to access Gemini sites. Several available browsers are listed on the Gemini web site.

The simplest one is the AV-98 client. It is written in Python and runs in a terminal. To try it out, download it:

$ git clone https://tildegit.org/solderpunk/AV-98.git
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Go to the download directory and run AV-98:

$ cd AV-98.git
$ python3 ./main.py
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The client is an interactive prompt. It has a limited number of commands, the main one being simple go, followed by a Gemini server address. Select an interesting looking server from the list of known Gemini servers and try to access it:

AV-98> go gemini://example.club

Welcome to the example.club Gemini server!

Here are some folders of ASCII art:

[1] Penguins
[2] Wildebeests
[3] Demons
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Navigation is done by numbered links. For example, to enter the Penguins directory, type 1 and press Enter:

AV-98> 1

[1] Gentoo
[2] Emperor
[3] Little Blue
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To return, type Back and press enter:

AV-98> back
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For more commands, type help.

Use Gemini as your Web alternative

The Gemini protocol is simple enough that both junior and intermediate programmers can write clients for it, and it’s a quick and easy way to share content over the Internet. While the ubiquity of the World Wide Web has been beneficial for widespread dissemination, there is always room for alternatives. Check out Gemini to discover a quieter, simpler new corner of the Internet.

Via: opensource.com/article/20/…

By Seth Kenlon (lujun9972

This article is originally compiled by LCTT and released in Linux China