Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 18/05/2023: Distributed Sites Over Git



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • TV Showcase: Blake’s 7

        In 1977 came Star Wars, the movie. In the UK, the BBC created a television show in response: Blake’s 7.

        Imagine what would happen if you took the basic theme of Star Wars—an extremely successful evil galactic empire, and the rebels fighing it—and rewrote it as a serial with one rule: be realistic.

        If there is an extremely succesful evil galactic empire, then it holds all the cards; and the ones fighting it are eternally desperate and probably not too happy most of the time. Losses are frequent; victories are rare and probably insignificant.

      • 🔤SpellBinding: ACGINPU Wordo: SODAS
    • Technical

      • Revisiting Vapad

        Vapad is a little text editor that I started a year ago (or thereabouts) just in order to try out programming in Vala. It's intentionally a pretty simple little editor, but exposes a lot of the underlying functionality that you get for free just by including GtkSourceView such as syntax highlighting, smart indentation, and even vi mode. Being a Gtk+ app it's most useful on Linux or BSD.

      • Threat Axis

        Sometimes one might see worries about the "Intel Management Engine" (or the AMD equivalent) which if exploited would give an attacker a flawless victory, sub-zero wins! Given various CVE and TLA some of these fears may have merit. However, these same ME-fearing folks may fire up a "heavyweight champion" web browser without thought, even though that browser has much higher odds of having multiple exploits, and is much more likely to access such exploits from the cornucopia of content in a modern web request. Get over here, geese, it's horn o' plenty time!

      • smolver development log, part 10 - CGI

        This is the tenth in a planned series of posts (well, eleventh if you count the announcement) where I'll share my experience writing smolver, my Gemini server software, written in Swift.

        You can find the previous iterations below.

      • Internet/Gemini

        • ssl gone

          Hey bartender! Looks like the green padlock on the door is damaged. Could you check please? It says "S S L" on the lock. Sounds like a trustworthy brand. Hope you fix it soon!

        • Reflexion about bubble, part 2

          It seems my previous post wasn't as poorly received as I thought it would be (at least yet ^^), which is great and show the open mind of most geminauts. I've read a lot of different reactions to it, on the fediverse, via email, on other gemlog or on bubble itself, as there is a [dedicated page about it] in the discuss subspace!

        • Meet gwit: Human-scale, Distributed Sites over Git

          Hi everyone! I'm Degauss, pleased to meet you! This is my first log entry in The Oldest gwit Site, where I'll write about gwit to document it, spur conversations on its evolution, and help others adopt it.

          But what's gwit? In summary, gwit is an effort to create a distributed and future-proof digital publishing system as simple, lightweight and human-friendly as possible. It can host your current static Gemini or Web site, too. And it needs your help.

        • The online hoax

          Another day, another reminder of thieving others.

          (Thought about another way, though, that's irrelevant except in an ego-centric view/context wherein some mind-made "I" is troubled/inconvenienced by such.)

        • Finding my Niche

          But that's not always true. There are some standouts that break away from that mold. The main being "Welcome to the N.H.K". This contains elements of slice of life, comedy, and romance. But its first and foremost a drama about anxiety, depression, and self loathing. It is honestly my favorite anime series. I watched it shortly after release and it just stuck with me - as a depressed high-schooler. Rereading the light novel in 2023 casts a slightly new light on it, as one character gives off major incel vibes... it makes the story even more tragic... knowing that this epidemic has only gotten worse since the mid 2000s.

        • Here we go again

          My hoping to automate uploading a new gemini post file and index.gmi file, and then re-point Antenna to that updated index.gmi file led me back to the horrific nightmare also known as security.

          The system I host my gemini capsule on seemingly doesn't like scp, giving me the impression I'm apparently stuck with sftp, which to automate seems to require the '-b' flag pointing to a batchfile. But -b overrides there being any means to specify a password, apparently leading to needing to investigate ssh-keygen and get key files in the right places. I think I've been there before, and all that's coming to mind are vague memories of a bad taste in my mouth, giving me the feeling I'll have to pour gobs of time down the drain to make such work again - no doubt getting locked out of my account while not getting it right too many times along the way.

        • But maybe it's just me?

          Then again, maybe I'm just a big, whiny hypocrite for supporting higher barriers to entry with respect to cross-posting links, yet pissing and moaning over having to dick with ssh keys to automate file uploads?

        • Re: Are we rebuilding the centralized web, minus tracking?

          One of my favorite "Capsuler" in the Geminispace has raised personal worries about a current polarization trend of the Geminispace into few centralized spaces such as, for instance, "Antenna" and the brand-new Skyjake — for the record Lagrange's creator — project: Bubble; which really pushes the Geminispace a in total different level (although I haven't check that out personally).

          If I was totally unaware about the history or the development of Gemini I would totally agreed that centralization is bad, always! To reiterate the concept centralization is what makes the WWW ugly, for instance the ActivityPub protocol is under attack due the centralization push that is leveraging the (biggest) instance of Mastodon.social.

        • Re: Are we rebuilding the centralized web, minus tracking?

* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

Dances With Wolves, Wakes Up With Fleas
Small minds say "td;dr" whereas the rest say, "give me information, give me time to study it"...
Garrett Does Not Just Try to Cover Up for Himself, He's Clearly Covering Up for His Mates From Microsoft (and Admits Third Parties Fund His Litigation, With Their Legal Bills Estimates Already Approaching $1,000,000)
They have already sent us about 75 KG of legal papers. How is any judge supposed to keep up?
Richard Stallman in the United States - Part IV - Back to Switzerland
The "cancel mob" tried to "finish off" RMS 5 years ago
Dr. Richard Stallman in Ada Lovelace Lecture Series 20 Hours From Now in Lucerne School of Computer Science and Information Technology (Rotkreuz)
Well-connected and affluent corporations want everything to be controlled by them, ranging from culture to words and news
GNU/Linux Seen as Rising to 20% in Eritrea, But That's statCounter Identifying "Unknown" as GNU/Linux
What if statCounter managed to figure out what all those "unknowns" are?
 
Under IBM, Some Fedora Blog Posts Have Become LLM Slop! (Red Hat is Doomed by Slop Fanaticism)
Who would even bother reading such trash?
Lots of People Leaving IBM Today
IBM cannot be trusted
LLM Slop Rare and Scarce This Friday
We still hope that by the end of this year slop will become nearly extinct
Defending British Democracy From American Predators
We stand united and strong in the face of predators
Links 06/03/2026: LLM Prompt-injection Vulnerability in Microsoft's Proprietary GitHub, "260,000 Federal Jobs Lost"
Links for the day
It's Friday and Many People Publicly Announce Leaving IBM (Which is Engineering 'Willful' Departures to Mask RAs' Scale)
We understand from whistleblowers that IBM already destroyed Red Hat's culture
Dr. Richard Stallman (RMS), the Man Whose Mind Scares GAFAM et al, Began Speaking in Switzerland
His ideas and ideals are not obscene
Gemini Links 06/03/2026: "Setting up the Feed" and Using Molly Brown
Links for the day
Links 06/03/2026: Can't Copyright Slop in US, Microsoft Became Slop Provider for Militarism
Links for the day
Threats Issued to Daniel Pocock Having Launched the JuristGate Web Site Which Covers Financial Fraud in "Legal Insurance" Clothing
Is our world governed by laws or by rich corporations (or nations/superpowers) with well-connected lawyers/politicians?
International Women's Day: At the EPO, for Women to Become Managers They Need to Sleep With Well-connected Men and Mingle With Corrupt Men
Sunday is International Women's Day
Dr. Richard Stallman Starts His Talks in Switzerland in 8 Hours
They try to assess how many people plan to attend to ensure everyone gets a seat (without compromising the privacy/identity of those attending)
IBM Red Hat Layoffs: It's Not About "AI"
"Automation" is not "AI", it's just a generic term which can describe jobs left for machines to do, sometimes computers
Microsoft Windows Used to be Identified on Over 99% of Web Requests From Benin. Now It's Around 50%.
Or a lot less
Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' Has Severe Financial Problems, Version Inflation ("GPT-5.4") is Mindless Hype and a Misleading Distraction
In practice, both users and sponsors of ChaffGPT are fleeing
The Techrights Static Site Generator (SSG) Turns 5 Next Year
It's still under active development in our Git servers
New XBox Boss (Sharma) Implicitly Confirmed XBox (the Console) is Now Dead
Vista 11 is now also known as "XBox"
Murder as a 'Joke' to GAFAM People (Sociopathy)
When it comes to Microsoft and Salesforce, they profit from this mentality
Microsoft ‘Project Helix’ is Just a Tweet in MElon's "X"
Some "tweet" is easy, as words are cheap
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 4 Out of 200: Rianne’s Version of Events and Narrative
today we tell Rianne's experience
EPO Staff to 'Meet' This Coming Tuesday to Plan Industrial Actions Including Upcoming Strikes
using Microsoft spyware to organise this can be an own goal because Microsoft serves the dictators, not the union that tries to topple them
Thousands of EPO Workers Rally Against EPO Management
The staff is furious to see what became of the EPC and the EPO. This is not sustainable.
In Argentina Firefox is Measured at Only 1%, Google Chrome (Proprietary) at About 90%
And it has long been that way
IBM's March 2026 Layoffs Already Happening (to Accelerate Soon in Europe and America)
We're probably seeing some of the last years of IBM and it's anything but certain that IBM can survive the coming decade
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 05, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, March 05, 2026
Gemini Links 05/03/2026: Industrial Panettone, Cancel, and LLMs
Links for the day
It's Not "AI", IBM is Collapsing Due to Financial Difficulties, "All Small Country Offices Will Close"
IBM is in trouble. Insiders know it.
"AI Companies" Running Out of Money, GAFAM Layoffs Are Signs of Weakness, Not "AI Efficiency" or Novelty
In the past, this term ("AI") had another meaning and connotation
Libel/Defamation Law Does Not Exist to Cover up Crimes
The projection tactics are nothing new
Myanmar/Burma: Growing Acceptance of GNU/Linux, Big Losses for Windows
GNU/Linux has come close to 5% there
Without IBM, Microsoft Would Not Have Taken Off. Both Companies Need to be 'Taken Down'.
Maybe it's time to boycott IBM as well
'Former' Red Hat Staff Upset That Techrights Covers IBM Accounting Problems
Are we touching a sensitive subject at IBM?
Ubuntu is Controlled by a Youngster From the British Army (Background in Mass Surveillance), So One Can Expect Ubuntu to Not Respect Privacy
"Canonical is aware of the legislation and is reviewing it internally with legal counsel"
IBM Hates Computer Freedom. This Means Red Hat Too is an Enemy of Software Freedom.
A summary of Fedora's position when it comes to "attestation"
IBM Union Says Many IBM Layoffs in Europe, With Netherlands and Belgium Confirmed, Allegedly Italy Soon (200 Layoffs)
IBM's demise will harm Red Hat and already harms Red Hat, according to whistleblowers
Microsoft and Microsoft's 'Open' 'AI' Seeking Bailout From the Pentagon Means Brand Erosion
Microsoft and its offshoots growing more and more dependent on military ("defence"; "Department of War") budget
Another EPO Strike a Fortnight From Now, Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN) Shares 127-Page Document Explaining How Policies Impact EPO Staff
The Office is circling down the drain
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 3 Out of 200: A More In-Depth Breakdown
presents the narrative in a less chronological and more logically coherent fashion
2026 Seems Like (Potentially) the Last Year of Slop Drowning News Sites
Sites that do so perish [...] It's getting hard to find slop in news sites which cover "Linux" because many gave up
Links 05/03/2026: New LexisNexis Data Breach Confirmed, "Goldman Sachs Head During Financial Crisis Says He “Smells” a Similar Crash Coming"
Links for the day
"Silent Layoffs" or "Forever Layoffs" at IBM and Red Hat (After Bluewashing)
Like every day (all day long) we can see people who leave IBM and say something that's based on a 'script'
Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Others Promoting String of RMS Talks, Starting Tomorrow in Lucerne School of Computer Science and Information Technology
Well done, FSF!
Links 05/03/2026: A Bet Against Substack, American Government Openly Hostile Towards Environment
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/03/2026: Greed and Sentiments Shifting Against Slop
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 04, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 04, 2026
FSF Promoting Richard M. Stallman (RMS) Talk in Switzerland in Just Over a Day From Now
RMS may have more talks on the way
Why Slop Will Flop - Part IV - We've Seen the End of It
Some years ago they insisted blockchains would revolutionise everything
Android is Proprietary 'Linux' and It Becomes More Malicious Over Time, Google Only Delayed What It Planned All Along
Google is a proprietary software giant, GSoC is only a distraction and confusion
Links 04/03/2026: Scam Altman Causes Chatbot Sub Numbers to Plunge, "Stocks Drop as Inflation Risk Emerges"
Links for the day
Why Slop Will Flop - Part III - Our Relationship With Slop (and Yours)
I never - except inadvertently - "used" an LLM-based chatbot
Why Slop Will Flop - Part II - Devil in the Details
News sites or social control media sites which tolerate slop are digging their own grave
Simpler Means Faster
Do you know your bottlenecks?
Gemini Links 04/03/2026: About a Missing Symbol and "Good Manners"
Links for the day
The Register MS Takes Money From Chinese Surveillance Threat to Promote a Ponzi Scheme
"Sponsored by Huawei."
Nicaragua's GNU/Linux Usage Measured at Over 8% by statCounter
Nicaragua is a poor country, but it also has rich culture
Why Slop Will Flop - Part I - Slop Fatigue Prevalent
See, sooner or later people (audiences of colleagues) find out and as soon as they find out you are slopping, they will lose interest
Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 2 Out of 200: Detailed Timeline From 2012 (Attack on Reporters That Question Restricted Boot) to 2024 (Lawsuit Against Reporter and His Wife in Another Continent)
we reproduce a document produced 2 years ago to give people more context and more facts
Links 04/03/2026: "The EU moves to kill infinite scrolling" and a call to "Nationalize Amazon"
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Evidence of Abuse in Our IRC Network
IRC's freedom can sometimes be its 'weakness' if not properly guarded
High GNU/Linux Adoption in Brunei Darussalam
It's worth noting (or at least noticing) that Microsoft loses ground in some of the countries where the government contracts paid the most
Media Blackout Reducing or Preventing Press Coverage of Microsoft Layoffs in 2026
Worse yet, there will be gaslighting and deceit
GNU/Linux in Laptops/Desktops Still Matters, It's Likely the Only Way to Achieve Software Freedom
Software Freedom requires all sorts of things at the "OS level"
Gemini Links 04/03/2026: The Garnet Star, The Hunt, The SYN Attacks
Links for the day
The EPO's General Consultative Committee (GCC) Discussion Illuminates How Much Worse Things Have Gotten ("on Strike and Participated in the 'Meeting'")
a videoconference - not a physical meeting - discussed EPO policies
Free Software Foundation Supports Its Founder, Advertises His Talks in Switzerland
When you suppress voices, assuming the reasons for suppression are bunk, it is always bound to backfire very badly
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 03, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 03, 2026