gemini://mifuyne.capsule.town/gemlog/2024/why

I started writing my first post on BBS @ geminispace.org. In it, I asked why people decided to hang out in Gemini-space. At first I started typing out my answer, as if someone asked me the same question, and I realized I could make this a gemlog post. So here I am, writing it out here. The post I made on the BBS can be found here, in case anyone wants to participate:

I've gathered the vibe in Gemini-space to be anti-modern-day-Web. The version that's rife with sites asking for your permission to slip in a tracking cookie (or ten, or twenty). If I recall correctly, it's a legal requirement to tell people that your site is using cookies. So I don't begrudge the requirement itself. It just made it that much clearer how ridiculous the practice have become. Some of those cookies you can't even opt-out of because it's "necessary" for the site to function. I've also caught wind of a sentiment against sites that are essentially programs.

While I find my feelings towards the Web aligning with the ridiculous amount of cookies these sites demand are "needed," I can't say I feel entirely the same about the Web turning into a bunch of programs that you need a web browser just to run them. Their capability to run across multiple platform make them easier to distribute to a very wide demographic. The fact that it doesn't require multiple compiling targets and whatnot makes it very accessible as well. My grid-based colour mixing project was made using Web tech. All one needs is a web browser to run it. They don't even need a connection. They can download all the built assets hosted on the site and run it locally.

All that being said, when it comes to text-based (and some images) content, I would rather not have to wade through sites encouraging/begging me to turn off my ad-blocker. I would rather not deal with poorly designed sites where they inject "related links" into the middle of the article, especially on mobile! Or sites where they believe the first half of the screen should be some random graphics, the title and the byline or whatever. The "magazine" method of design 🙄

I also like the limitations the gemini protocol imposes on the content delivered through it. It makes social capsules like the BBS @ geminispace.org relatively painless to navigate through. It did take some learning but it's not too bad. Whereas you have sites like Reddit trying to impose their own idea of design and end up creating a rather bloated experience. I mean, I like that the content is a bit more spaced out and less cramped. However, I don't think all that Javascript driven interface is necessary for a good user experience. That's one of the few sites I have an extension on my web browser that redirects me to the old version. There are days where I'm still looking for stuff that's only available through Reddit (largely, user opinions).

Last bit of thought on this, I wish my ebook reader (it's a kobo) supported the gemini protocol natively. It would be so much nicer to expand on the reading experience. It doesn't even need to support the ability to edit pages. I wouldn't want to on those devices! For now though, my workaround is to use a web proxy from mozz.us.

I wish I had a more profound answer than "I heard of Gemini first and that piqued my interest!" That's really all there is to it. I stuck with it because there seems to be a decent amount of content in Gemini-space and it's the more modern take on gopher, or so I've read. I'm not familiar with the others. Not yet. There's a chance I might switch over to one of the others but I doubt it. Gemini seems to live up to the expectations that were set forth.

Why Gemini?

Why Gemini and not something else?