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An alternative decentralized internet for sharing text and media: The Gemini Protocol (geminiprotocol.net)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/24735701

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)

It is similar to the old gopher: text files, links, and images form a hypertext optimized for reading. Text is formatted like Markdown - but even simpler.

Clients display text, like an eBook, or images / media.

Servers can run on a PC or Raspberry Pi which needs half a Watt of power. No FAANG companies needed. No expert knowledge needed - not more difficult than running a file sharing client.

I think it is the right thing for defense of democracy and sharing your voice in the digital realm.

Edit: If you see comments here which kinda miss the point, appeal to emotions, have faulty logic, or depart from entirely incorrect assumptions: Please keep in mind that big US tech companies can't say "that's bad, how will we shovel money with this?". Please use your critical thinking skills - they are much needed here!

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[–] 9 points 8 months ago (6 children)

what is the benefit of this compared to HTTP though?

For me, it's kind of the novelty of it. Gemini is separated from the mainstream internet, there's a mild barrier to entry, so it has a distinct culture and vibe to it

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (5 children)

    Mild is an understatement. It's likely beyond the ability of most people to set up. To the extent it's exclusionary.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago (4 children)

    I mean, to make a website, that's probably true. But accessing the Gemini protocol is as simple as installing a web browser

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 child)

    Writing a page means editing a file with a simple syntax like markdown (called gemtext).

    Running a gemini server is about as difficult as running a file sharing client.

    There are pre-built server packages as part of Debian and its derivatives.

    Or, one can install Rust and download and build the agate server. That's what I did on my Raspberry Pi B. That Raspberry has an Ethernet port and USB port which can power it from my FritzBox. Needs half a Watt of Power when idle. Then, one needs to start the server on bootup. This is done via a service file for systemd.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 8 months ago

    And after that, one only has to configure a folder for the gemini page files, and configure the home router to allow access to that port of the Raspberry Pi.

    The alternative is to get a shell account to a shared gemini server like tildeverse. This is usually free of cost since the software is almost maintenance-free and the power draw is a few Euros per year for the entire server.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Yes, I was referring to the technical hurdles you have to jump to be able to participate in Gemini. Surely we want stuff like this to be participatory rather than passive read-only?

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