gemini+submit:// (was Re: Uploading Gemini content)

[Luke Emmet]

On 14-Jun-2020 15:26, solderpunk wrote:
>
> Lowering the barriers to entry for people who aren't familiar with ssh
> and unix file permissions is good and appropriate, but I don't think
> requiring a "real computer" is *inappropriate*.  This may rule a lot of
> people out as potential content producers, but frankly they've ruled
> *themselves* out.  I don't see this as exclusionary or discriminatory:
> A secondhand laptop that's 10 years old or more is *absolutely* capable
> of writing text/gemini content (I am writing this email on the same 9
> year old surplus Thinkpad that I've used to author all my Gemini content
> *and* software, and I bet there is already somebody on this list using
> something older and less powerful) and is far cheaper than any
> smartphone or tablet.  Heck, a big part of the appeal of Geminispace for
> me is the knowledge that I can use "ancient" hardware and turn the CPU
> scaling down to the lowest setting to save battery life and it will
> remain perfectly usable, and even if I run multiple clients at once the
> fan will never, ever spin up!  What a dream...anyway, my point is cheap,
> old laptops in danger of ending up as landfill are not only more capable
> tools for writing Gemini content than iPhones and iPads, by virtue of
> having actual text input peripherals, they are also accessible to and
> inclusive of a wider range of potential content producers.  So let's not
> go out of our way to accommodate crippled devices.
This is quite a harsh perspective IMO - in the developing world there 
are many people who can only afford to access the internet via a phone. 
Whilst we might not build specifically for phone users, the light weight 
nature of Gemini does make it a potential vehicle to be used for many 
more people than we may imagine.

Perhaps in this phase of the definition of Gemini, we should think of a 
potential user as our "significant others". Perhaps users who have an 
inclination to write and share their thoughts outside of the highly 
commercialised mainstream web. But certainly not an assumption they know 
what ssh, sftp or running your own linux server.

What would these users need to assist them?

Best Wishes

  - Luke