Bonum Certa Men Certa

Bright Future for Alternatives to the World Wide Web

Summary: Awareness of -- and of course interest in -- Gemini Protocol (gemini://) is growing; as we approach our 16th year it'll be interesting to see how much of a role this Internet protocol will play

Yesterday some Linuxy site wrote an introduction to Gemini Protocol, which was cited earlier today by Linux Today. The word spreads fast as the number of capsules continues to grow, as does the size of our capsule, which is still listed first as follows (moments ago):



Capsule count for November

Two days ago the total was 1,727 and today it's 1,750. I'm aware of some capsules not listed there, so the list is incomplete to say the least. Maybe there are 3,000 capsules out there. Maybe more... some aren't always online, so the count is subjective.

Smaller capsules are harder to find and detect; Lupa is the work of only one man, Stéphane Bortzmeyer.

The Web has gone too far. More people recognise this. The World Wide Web Consortium is captured.

This means we need something other than the Web.

techrights ageThe whole thing about alternatives to the Web excites us because we've long worried about how bloated the Web became, requiring even more bloated ('Web') browsers to access/navigate. Complete with plug-ins, DRM (EME), JavaScript and other nasty stuff. Some people already try to 'extend' the alternative protocol (examples from the past two days can be seen here and here, but replies are dismissive; there's desire to keep things very simple).

Speaking of simplicity, we still use the same theme that we used in 2006. No joking! Same theme.

"Speaking of simplicity, we still use the same theme that we used in 2006."This coming Sunday we officially turn 15. Our Internet domain (not limited to the Web) has subsites too. gemini.techrights.org is a growing priority and we constantly make improvements to it (it's not very visible when one faces the constraints of Gemini). We're about to exceed 38,000 pages in total inside the capsule (it'll happen some time before we turn 15), so there's another cause for celebration. In terms of number of blog posts, later this month we'll exceed 32,000 in total.

Recent Techrights' Posts

There Are Days or Occasions Where gemini:// Requests Almost Exceed http(s):// and Gemini Protocol Isn't Even 6 Yet
Gemini Protocol turns 6 one month from now
 
Gemini Links 18/05/2025: Five Years on Gemini and Atom Feeds over Gopher
Links for the day
Links 18/05/2025: F.D.A. More Sceptical of COVID-19 Vaccines, UK Charges 3 Iranian Nationals In Alleged Attack Plot Against Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/05/2025: "Finally Upgraded" and "Rebooting"
Links for the day
Abundance of Good Code, "Just Like Air."
Richard Stallman's seminal manifesto and foundational (practical) work on GNU gave us a very solid system that facilitates productive work without concerns over spyware
Messages in TheLayoff.com Drowned Out by LLM Slop (Comments Focused on Replying to Bot-Generated Provocation)
apparently shaking hands with nazis isn't as bad as calling your git repository's main branch "master"
The Importance of Full Disclosure and Transparency Online
there will be full transparency, as always
Slopwatch: Slopfarms and Serial Sloppers Still at It
Apparently Google is too understaffed to figure that out
Links 18/05/2025: Decreased Prospects of Science Careers, Disappearance of Journalists
Links for the day
Microsofters Have a Long History Trying to Take Down Techrights by Sending Threats to Webhosts
picking on women
Links 18/05/2025: Science, Censorship and European Commission Taking on Monopoly Abuse by Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/05/2025: Šibenik and SFJAZZ Historical Archive
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 17, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, May 17, 2025
Links 17/05/2025: Microsoft Kills "Surface Laptop Studio" (More Canceled Products/Units), Groups Caution About Harms of Social Control Media
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/05/2025: Sympathy Algorithm and SSH on Alternative Ports
Links for the day
Inviting the Founder of GNU/Linux to Events (It Only Costs His Travel Expenses) and Recalling the True Origins
It's reassuring to see belated recognition
Slopwatch: Microsoft's Anti-Linux Propaganda and Cover-up, Slopfarms Clogging Up Google News
slop-tracking activities that observe googlebombing of "Linux"
AstroTurfing by IBM in thelayoff.com is Highly Risky (and Likely Outsourced)
Microsoft did this in Reddit (and got caught), so why won't IBM too?
Links 17/05/2025: Stabber of Salman Rushdie Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
Links for the day
The Microsofters Have Just Shared Privileged Trial Data With Microsoft
There are serious ramifications for liability accountability as Microsoft salaries sponsor these SLAPPs
Trolls With LLM Slop Are Disrupting Communications About Mass Layoffs at IBM
LLM slop to drown out the signal
Gemini Links 17/05/2025: Happier on Gemini and Manipulating Reddit
Links for the day
ComEd and Microsoft: A Mess of Spaghetti Held Together By Circus Clowns
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 16, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 16, 2025
Links 16/05/2025: Microsoft Sacks Pregnant Women, People Fired on Their Birthday; Adobe Censorship Failing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/05/2025: "Repairing Our Way out of Commodity Fetishism" and Pre-librebooted Computers
Links for the day
[Video] IBM Shakes Hands of Prince Mohammed bin Salman
handshake of loyalty
The SLAPPs From Microsofters Distract From Serious Copyright Infringement by Microsoft and Apparent Business Crimes
Aside from other issues, such as strangling women
Enshittification is Everywhere: You Pay More, the Services Get Worse
"Enshittification" is a term coined by an online friend; I increasingly use this term to describe what's happening even outside the realm of technology (which it was adopted to describe)
Microsoft Reduces Office Space Ahead of More Waves of Mass Layoffs
"The Gerstnerisation of Microsoft"
Anti-Linux FUD Produced by Microsoft LLMs to Blame "Linux" for Microsoft's Own Failures
We call out some of the worst culprits
Gemini Links 16/05/2025: Hoking GPS, Grabovac, and Tanana
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 15, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, May 15, 2025