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

[solderpunk]

On Mon, Jun 15, 2020 at 05:28:46PM +0000, Pete D. wrote:
 
> In this www-reprise model, lots of extra stuff is being proposed, it seems
> to me, and at some point, one has to ask, why not use http if you are going
> to decorate with all the http things?

Perhaps the biggest current gap in the Gemini FAQ is a response to "Why
are you bothering to create something new for this, don't you realise
you can just use a subset of HTTP and a subset of HTML?!".  It's a fair
question.  It's not like I'm not aware of the possibility - I wrote my
"non-violent webserver" Shizaru
(https://tildegit.org/solderpunk/shizaru/) before starting Gemini.

I have thought about this a lot, and I *do* think there is a point to
creating something new, but I can't express it in a short, sharp form
yet.  I'm working on it.

That said, I think there would be plenty of interest and energy around a
kind of "back to basics" web movement.  People are really getting sick
and tired of the mainstream web and are looking for escapes and
alternatives.  For many, that's Gopher.  Gemini was started in large
part out of a feeling that many people who *wanted* to escape, perhaps
badly, would not see Gopher as an adequate refuge.  I hope for some it is.
For some it still may not be, and some kind of minimalist subset of the
web might be better.

> And so now, seeing all this wiki talk, I'm excited again by the idea of a
> wiki protocol, but at the same time, I feel like it really should be a
> different project. It's not what gemini is.

I hope that even for people who disagree strongly with design decisions
I've made for Gemini can look to it as a source of hope and empowerment.
No matter how bad the mainstream internet experience gets and how
hopeless it may seem, the clean slate of TCP/IP is always there and you
can build whatever you want on top of it.  Something which is "just an
idea" can always turn into "a thing" if you can convince enough people
that it's a good idea.  The internet is magic and malleable and has
plenty of room for all sorts.  Build things that make you happy!

Cheers,
Solderpunk