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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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[–] 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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