Bonum Certa Men Certa

Gemini Links 24/08/2023: gmid 2.0 Alpha



  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal/Opinions

      • Hey gopherites!

        Hey gopherites!

        Macro news:

        There were a couple of rain showers today. The air has cleared up from "smoking a whole pack of Export A cigarettes at once" to "1980s LA smog."

        Down in the Kelowna area, it sounds like just under 100 houses burned. They haven't announced how many burned in the North Shuswap. Needless to say, more rain would be great.

      • Rain

        So it rained last night. Hard. Twice.

        The smoke is almost gone. The rain washed almost all of the ash away. Hopefully this is the end of the fire season for us this year.

      • Dreams

        Thank you two gopher friends who wrote after my last diary entry. I missed pandemic conviviality. It was good to hear from you guys.

        Evy woke up last night gasping. In her dream we had to dump out some spoiled milk. To avoid being seen the three of us ducked in a cave and traversed it. When we emerged there were still people. We'd disposed of the milk, but we ducked back in, to exit by our original entrance. I jumped in the water. There was no bottom. Daughter and I were pulled down. Evy jumped in to rescue us, was also pulled down. Drowning in the dream she woke up gasping because her sinus infection migrated to her lungs.

      • WhatsApp, Restraint Orders, Matrix

        Because of a silent WhatsApp group protesters use to locate MK Simha Rothman, chairman of the Constitution Committee. wherever he goes and to protest there, Now Rothman tries to appeal to Jerusalem Magistrate Court in order to issue restraint orders against 400 protesters. In addition, he wants to shut down theie WhatsApp group.

      • The Cooperative Principle

        When talking, most people expect that the cooperative principle is in play.

        “If, for example, at a particular stage I need four screws, I expect you to hand me four, rather than two or six”, as Grice put it. But four is a subset of six so giving six screws is logically complying with the request, you might object. If that’s your reaction, you might wanna read up on the cooperative principle, and try to find some applications and examples of it.

      • begin.txt (X-post)

        Yo. This is the second (and a half) iteration of me making a blog. The first time was... something.

        First, I used Bash and the Neocities API. Lots of appending, and the RSS feed was.. garish to say the least. But it worked! No one ever read it though. The gist is on my Github somewhere. I should really make this project parse links and images. Like gemtext!

        Second time, I used webpy by Aaron Swartz (RIP.) I still *am* but just without the templates and fancy stuff. Minimalist, if you will. I figured that it'll be easier for me to just write and add services with webpy rather than just reskinning the same website over and over. I'll post the new code somewhere soon enough.

    • Technology and Free Software

      • 👻 DANE Will Set Us Free

        I was digging around in the configuration of my email server (probably a separate post on that forthcoming), and kept stumbling over the many various extensions which have been made to the email protocol over the years. SPF, DMARC, MTA-STS, oh my! Most of these extensions have been bolted on top of email in the hopes of preventing spam and forgery of messages, but at this point there's so many that I began to wonder which are actually necessary from a server admin's point of view. So I did some research.

        One of these extensions is DKIM, which stands for... something. It doesn't matter. The aim of DKIM is to prevent undesirables from spoofing the From address of an email. This is accomplished by sticking a public key in a well known DNS entry, and then signing all outgoing messages with the associated private key. Mail servers receiving email which (ostensibly) comes from your domain are expected to check that the signature on the received email matches the public key on the DNS record.

      • Software Releases/Announcements

        • gmid 2.0 first alpha

          It took quite some time. Last September I was thinking I would have 2.0 ready for December, and here we are. Better late than never I guess.

          This time I decided to do a round of public testing before releasing 2.0 itself.

          I decided to call this an "alpha" rather than a first RC to better convey the idea that I'm still open to change (even in incompatible ways) the new feature set before the release. It works perfectly for me, but since it's used by other people as well I felt the need to wait a bit and gather some feedback.


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



Recent Techrights' Posts

RMS Was Right 35 Years Ago
Stallman’s viewpoints have remained the same
Fedora is IBM and There's Hardly Any Community Left
It's more like an onboarding mechanism for unpaid labour at (and for) IBM
 
Gemini Links 29/01/2026: Naps, Letting Go, and Terribly Cold Weather
Links for the day
Links 29/01/2026: Kennedy Center Officials Resigning and Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs
Links for the day
Goodbyes to Red Hat and IBM
PIPs let them do the same with less "wasted" on severance or with obscene narrative-shaping
The Need to Understand the Projection Tactics Against RMS
There's an old and common saying (or "wisdom") about who's guilty when there's a fart in elevators (lifts)
Links 29/01/2026: Neocities Is Blocked by Microsoft, “Intellectual Freedom Centers” as the New "Intelligent Design"
Links for the day
Microsoft XBox Dying Not Only as a Console, Reveals Microsoft
Microsoft is trying to rebrand or repurpose the brand
Don't be Mistaken, Microsoft Boasts About Money That Does Not Exist and Revenue (Buying From Oneself!) Is Not Income
the company's debt grew
IBM's Financial Performance in IBM's Own Words: Money Down, Debt Up Sharply
IBM isn't a healthy company
In Dominica, GNU/Linux Has Risen to All-Time High in 2026
a lot of America is moving to Free software this year
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XV - EPO is on Strike Tomorrow, Lots to be Angry About (Except Money)
We'll soon finish the series
Gemini Links 29/01/2026: "Lady Audley's Secret" and "The Value Of Our Fear" (Carney's Speech)
Links for the day
Emmanuel Macron on Europe's GAFAM Addiction/Dependence: "There is No Such Thing as Happy Vassalage"
Microsoft has long worked to prevent commodification
It's Official, Mass Layoffs at IBM Again (2026)
In a matter of days we'll just see how much IBM's debt has grown
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Laos and Microsoft: About 10% Windows, 0% Bing
There are many more nations like it
EPO Technical Meetings Show no Breakthroughs, a Strike Goes Ahead This Friday
Apparently there was another (fourth) meeting today [...] The industrial actions are working already
Google News as the Sole Source of Slop About "Linux", a Feeder of Slopfarms or Serial Sloppers
At least it's no longer hard to 'contain' the slop problem, knowing which domains are the culprits and seeing that Google is their main 'feeder'
IBM to Announce 'Results' Shortly, Expect Lots of Chaff Like "Quantum" and "Hey Hi" (Nothing Material to Show)
We're still seeing layoffs and an exodus
Links 28/01/2026: ChatGPT Has Financial Problems, White House Sharing Fakes (or Deepfakes) in Official Accounts/Sites
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/01/2026: FlatCube NES Port Finished and "Why I Still Write on the Small Web in 2026"
Links for the day
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Public Appearances of Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in the United States
we plan to drop all pretences about "Open Source" and instead focus on Software Freedom
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Experiences of EPO Insiders
We'll start the new series some time next week
Links 28/01/2026: Microsoft Ordered to Stop Spying on School Children, Apple's Brand Tarnished by Its Complicity With Human Rights Abusers
Links for the day
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Failure of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to Stop Hired Guns Who Work for Americans That Abuse Women
The SRA has demonstrated nothing but considerable incompetence at many levels
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIV - The EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan and the Hidden Alicante Connection is a Big Deal
We'll soon take a closer look at Ernst
Gemini Links 28/01/2026: Particle and AirMIDI
Links for the day
Amandine Jambert (EDPB/CNIL/FSFE), motive for lying, trust in blockchain and encryption
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Expect More XBox Layoffs Shortly
As expected
Links 27/01/2026: Japan-China Feud Escalates Again, "Iran's Internet Blackout Persists"
Links for the day
Online 'Gathering' Held Today to Organise Industrial Actions in EPO, Strikes Will be Starting Shortly
"Online Extraordinary General Meeting on Action Plan"
It's Not About What You Know, It's About Who You Know (and Stay Quiet About the Cocaine)
This is not an organisation that exists to ensure laws are followed
FOSDEM 2026: democracy panel: FSFE uses women as stooges, gerrymander
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Must Use Proprietary JavaScript to Submit Feedback to the European Commission About Moving From GAFAM to Free Software
Nevertheless, go tell them why Software Freedom would benefit Europe's defence and economy
Distortion of the Facts About Mass Layoffs at IBM
more layoffs are ahead
Gemini Links 27/01/2026: "Waiting Isn't a Waste", Posting from Lynx, and Bookmarks
Links for the day
Links 27/01/2026: "Oracle Debt and TikTok Transition Troubles Vex the Ellison Media Empire", Richard Stallman Quoted on Copyrights
Links for the day
Steven Field (Red Hat) Speaks of "Recent Layoff" (RA/Wave) in Red Hat
IBM really doesn't like it when people talk about "RAs"
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIII - Is EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan in Cahoots With the "Alicante Mafia"?
that deserves much media attention, political intervention, and condemnation
A Week Ago We Contacted the EPO's Stephen (Steve) Rowan About Cocainegate
Tomorrow we'll write some more about Rowan
“Wikilaundering” Explained
"London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires"
IBM Reports 'Results' Tomorrow, Expect More "RAs" (Mass Layoffs)
they use words like "efficiency", "optimisation", "AI", "pivot", "modernisation" and so on
Earlier This Month Microsoft Lunduke Said in Public It Was Good That Renee Good Was Murdered, Now He Mocks or Demonises People for Saying the US is Unsafe
Don't be easily conned by demagogues
Google News and "Linux" Slop
Why won't Google be interested in tackling this issue? Instead Google has been trying to participate in this issue.
IBM Kills Red Hat in the Darkness
What IBM does to Red Hat is malicious
IBM Red Hat's Goal Is Not Real Security (It Probably Never Was)
Spies and trolls are very malicious people and sometimes they're the same thing
With Absurd Lies About Slop, Which Lacks Intelligence or Financial Potential, GAFAM and IBM Will Twist Mass Layoffs as 'Efficiency Drive' or 'AI Pivot'
More layoffs are on the way
Animal Advocacy Works
All it takes is effort and determination
EPO Strike This Week
What has happened to Europe?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 26, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, January 26, 2026