Gude to Staring with Gopher (alternate net protocol).

[candide]

Here is a short guide for getting started on Gopher. Some of this is also covered in my journal, but I imagine it is good to have a step-by-step guide in one place.

Step 1: get Lynx browser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_(web_browser)

http://lynx.browser.org/

Alternate step: use floopgap as an http proxy
https://gopher.floodgap.com/gopher/

Here’s why I don’t like that step, even though it is as easy as a mouse click away: it adds a computation step, so it uses more resources than either the same page rendered as html (if rendered the same way) or the gopher page. Also, some of the resources I am sharing in step two take html pages and strip them to gopher. Well, if you read on the proxy, that means what you are seeing went html > gopher > html, and I just find that kind of absurd. But whatever. YMMV.

Step 2: read gopher stuff.

I most recommend the SDF “phlogs” (haha gopher logs). This is home to plenty of content in Gopher that isn’t about Gopher, something that used to not be the case with Gemini (another alternative protocol).

gopher://gopher.club/1/phlogs/

If you want to ferret out more stuff for yourself, including using the Veronica search engine (prepare to not be exactly amazed) the next place to look is the floopgap gopher site:

gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/

Once you’ve made gopherland a place you are willing to spend some time, you can extend you stay with some ways to replace content you would see in other places:

gopher://hngopher.com/
Hacker News port

gopher://gopherpedia.com
gopherpedia -- Wiki port

gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/7/groundhog/us/zipcode
Weather. It will ask for a zip code and consult a database.


Step 3: connect with human beings

Dust off ye old email. Keep in mind we don’t have “like buttons” in gopher land, and even hit counters are pretty rare, so a short “I appreciate what you write” is good for most of the people who contribute to the medium. You’re probably not going to get all that long of a response, but at least you have given an affirmation that the person isn’t writing into a void.

I at first thought there would be a vibe totally hostile to getting an email from gmail or some other email ran by a big badie tech company, and for that reason I only email people with my SDF email, but as I’ve spent more time in the space, I don’t think many people care all that much. I think it is more of a hobbyist space than a revolutionary space.

[unemployable]

Good to know if it's ever 1991 again.

[candide]

I'm so glad to live in 2020s, with the constant peanut gallery.

[unemployable]

I mean Usenet's still around too, although I'm not sure what it's good for other than piracy.

[candide]

Maybe this wasn't directed at you? Also possible that no one seeing the thread said to themselves "I wonder what unemployable's gut take on this is"? Also, hear me out here, maybe you have added nothing to anyone interested in the subject and have just been rude and annoying for no benefit other than sticking to brand.

But hey, you like your media social. Love that personality.

[unemployable]

Well I'm rather fascinated that gopher still exists. Is there a modern use case or marketing pitch for it? WWW is inherently redundant and resilient, so it's not as a backup to that.

[OutOfTheBlue]

Thank you, Candide, for sharing this. I had tried Gemini but not Gopher.

[candide]

You're certainly welcome, @OutOfTheBlue. If nothing else, it is a fun, free thing to play with.

What client do you use to view Gemini? I used GemiNaut when I was still on Windows. (Playing around on SDF is what led me to finally make the Linux plunge).

For those who want to follow the activities of the Gemini space through html proxy:

https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/warmedal.se/~antenna/

I have this as one of my quick link on Lynx, and since that is the only way I engage with the space currently, and I don't have a Linux client recommendation that I have tried, I limited the "guide" part to just Gopher... And then I know nothing about Spartan, other than its existence.

Update:
Noodled around on proxy above, and saw that it supports Spartan:

https://portal.mozz.us/spartan/spartan.mozz.us/

[jacob]

It seems like there's a gopher extension for dillo (a tiny footprint browser). This may come in handy on this project viewtopic.php?p=272271#p272271 which incidentally runs on BunsenLabs linux.

[avalok]

Thanks for this candide. I have spent some time with Gemini this past week, but am yet to browse any gopher holes. Will be sure to check it out; might make gopherpedia my go-to over Wikipedia.

I wish the weather forecast worked outside the US. Maybe I could set up my own somehow. For now I have https://wttr.in.