Comment by Shaper_pmp on 05/07/2020 at 01:22 UTC*

12 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

View submission: A look at the Gemini protocol: a brutally simple alternative to the web

What does this new protocol offer that can't already be achieved with HTML/HTTP/existing browsers with client-side stylesheets?

Anyone on the entire internet can turn off images, disable JS and substitute their own CSS reset and user-stylesheet... only (to a first approximation) **no-one does**.

The fact that we universally decided *not* to keep the web that simple and document-focused and instead complicated it with JS and application UIs and similar additions is not a sign the web is broken - it's a sign that Gemini is aiming for a demographic that - empirically! - simply doesn't exist in any significant degree.

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Comment by DiabolicNix at 10/09/2023 at 22:51 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I would respond to this by saying we did not universally decide the modern web to be the way that it is. A select group of interests developed the modern web that is browsed via HTTP and the rest of us have adopted it because there are not alternatives.

Disabling the things you said anyone can do, doesn’t mean everyone will, knows how to, or has the technical understanding to know how the user experience will become entirely more complicated once they do.

Have you tried disabling javascript? Even for a technically savvy user it is a pain in the butt to manage permissively, but it inherently more secure.

The movement is focused on minimalism and a user doesn’t have to give up HTTP to enjoy a dedicated space to be free of it.

Sociologically, empowering users to connect with community in a minimalist setting, allows us to focus on intentionally. It is really about mindfully consuming content. Not just going down whatever rabbit hole an algorithm feeds us.