Summary: The fast-growing Gemini space (capsules that serve pages over Gemini protocol) is a perfect fit or a great complement for the FSF's Web site (the pages are easy to copy across); we take a look at the sorts of benefits this would entail
THE exciting thing, to me at least, is Dr. Stallman (FSF Founder) speaking about the threats posed by "remote" visits to the doctor; in his talk a few days ago he explained that neither Web sites nor "apps" respect his freedom. His right-hand man, Mr. Oliva, gave or intended to give a talk (and essay) about Gemini as an alternative to the bloated and user-hostile World Wide Web. It was signed with: "Thanks to Richard Stallman for the inspiration to write about this issue, and for the encouragement to publish it." This was later republished by GNU/FSF, reaching the audience it truly deserved.
"It's a movement that takes off rapidly and reaches outer space."It's very, very encouraging to see the FSF talking about those issues. We need solutions as this is a core problem and a threat to software freedom. We wrote about this yesterday.
One common question that's important to tackle again and again is, "how can this replace the Web?" No, it won't replace it, it's complementary to it. Older versions of HTML aren't suitable. Temptation to go above and beyond, adding more and more bloat (or bells and whistles), won't be technically impeded. Gemini protocol is a response to such temptation, instead focusing on privacy, security, and extensive language support through Unicode (by default). The restrictive/limiting nature is a design feature. It's not "retro", except on the surface.
Having spent a lot of time on Gemini this year, I've prepared a crudely drafted video (no preparations, only intentions) about what it would take for the FSF to become available over Gemini space. Gemini is no "small potatoes"; in the first 3 weeks of this month we've received over 50,000 requests over gemini:// and that number increases over time because more geeks cross over, exploring what might later be adopted by a broader group of people. Quite a few of us at Techrights already use Web browsers and Gemini clients in conjunction. We've experimented with many such clients (over half a dozen GUIs exist, and over a dozen CLI/ncurses ones!) and they rapidly improve over time. It's a movement that takes off rapidly and reaches outer space. It has a lot to do with software freedom because all clients are Free software (as far as we're aware), not to mention specifications/protocols.
It would be a major boost and a much-appreciated addition if the FSF assigned somebody to create Gemini presence (something like gemini://gemini.fsf.org/) as it would not require registering a new domain and it would improve reach/exposure to the FSF's goals/messages. This is also highly beneficial to old computers and accessibility aspects are profoundly improved (Gemini is very popular among blind people). ⬆
