Gemini, an internet protocol

[spookyboogie]

My first `Random Topic` click carried me here and I've gotta say what a winner! This is so cool and I'm glad that, despite all the "who is still active" comments, I see people still posting as recently as today. Definitely going to while away several hours exploring Gemini.

Thanks for sharing!

[virtualpet2001]

very interesting thing - I had seen a couple mentions of "Gemini capsules" on the nerdy side of neocities and had been wondering what it was because google only led me to the spacecraft LOL
its very quaint and cute though i did notice that people are falling out of use with it immensely. i have actually been thinking a bit over "what if someone just made their own internet" but didnt realize it was actually a thing!
i think a protocol thats designed specifically for the weirdweb space (like we are in now) would be very fun but it would need to have some of the more "fun" features found in html in order to stick in any way. recreating early geocities by forcing people to comply with it? hehe

[Warthog]

Following some links here is a bit tedious since it looks like some unneeded junk gets added to hyperlinks, so I have to hover over or copy the link and then cut out an unnecessary http to make it work. And some places linked here just seem to have died.

I had fun with the exploring I'm able to do, but that exploration feels very limited and unfocused. Still I do think this is pretty cool and I'm happy I learned about it today.

[brennan]

I love gemini! I think it's great to have alternative Internet protocols.

I use https://smol.pub for my gemini capsule. It's $5 for a lifetime capsule and you get your site in both gemini:// and https://.

https://brennan.smol.pub

gemini://brennan.smol.pub

In fact, I made even made a Markdown2Gemtext converter so it's super easy to transfer any of your writing to Gemini format!

[arcus]

The Yestercities capsule host is closing down.

hi my name is iris, i wrote the software that runs this service.

ok so . as im sure you're aware, the yesterweb "shut down" quite a while ago. like 4 years ago. yestercities stayed up as many users were still actively using it, but due to my own mental health and the community exploding, i stopped maintaining this service. sorry to those of you who continued to use it despite that.

recently, a malicious actor abused the a vulnerability in the webdav file manager that i had running in addition to everything else, and managed to delete every single user's files. thankfully, tsvety (the one who actually hosts this service) had automatic backups of everything. i've now created a read-only version of this service to allow users to collect any files they would like to keep.

moving forward, i did intend to create a new host on a new machine that is unrelated to the yesterweb, using new and improved server software. if this does happen, it will probably be closer to april or may of 2026. this page will be updated with information on migrating or signing up on that service.

thank you for using yestercities for so long <3

gemini://cities.yesterweb.org/

In the meantime, flounder and MyGemini are alternatives for anyone wanting to make a capsule without technical knowledge.

In fact, I made even made a Markdown2Gemtext converter so it's super easy to transfer any of your writing to Gemini format!

Nice work.

[lakes]

After this thread made me interested in it, I've been using Kristall browser. It's very lightweight. It also has support for other protocols like Gopher (the protocol Gemini is inspired by) that you can enable in the settings.
It's available as an app image on Linux too. So you can basically install it on any distro, albeit without updates. That said, I think they announced the "last version/update" a while ago.
Edit: Apparently, I misunderstood something and Kristall is still being updated. Also changed "based on" to "inspired by" because it's more accurate.

[Dan Q]

Gopher (the protocol Gemini is based on)

I'd be more-inclined to say that Gemini takes inspiration from the simplicity of Gopher. The protocols themselves aren't really very alike at all (and Gemini's much more like HTTP, inside the box, than it is like Gopher IMHO).

Anyway: thanks for sharing Kristall: it's nice to see a Gemini-capable browser that can also do (simple) HTTP. Feels like it missed a trick by not supporting Spartan, but I love that it supports Finger: that's an under-loved protocol!

That said, I think they announced the "last version/update" a while ago.

Think you might be referring to the v0.4 release notes? It's a bit ambiguous, but I think the author's just saying that this version is (a) late (as in, it took longer than expected to make) and (b) feature-complete (as in, it fixed everything in the "to fix" list). I don't think that makes it the final release: in fact, it looks there have been a few dozen code changes since then (that haven't quite made it into a new release), so hopefully there'll be a v0.5 someday.

Again: thanks for sharing; it looks cool!

[lakes]

I'd be more-inclined to say that Gemini takes inspiration from the simplicity of Gopher. The protocols themselves aren't really very alike at all (and Gemini's much more like HTTP, inside the box, than it is like Gopher IMHO).

Anyway: thanks for sharing Kristall: it's nice to see a Gemini-capable browser that can also do (simple) HTTP. Feels like it missed a trick by not supporting Spartan, but I love that it supports Finger: that's an under-loved protocol!

Think you might be referring to the v0.4 release notes? It's a bit ambiguous, but I think the author's just saying that this version is (a) late (as in, it took longer than expected to make) and (b) feature-complete (as in, it fixed everything in the "to fix" list). I don't think that makes it the final release: in fact, it looks there have been a few dozen code changes since then (that haven't quite made it into a new release), so hopefully there'll be a v0.5 someday.

Again: thanks for sharing; it looks cool!

My bad. Thanks for clarifying. I did not know. Also I'm glad you appreciate Kristall. It's a good browser.

[rnottelovesowls]

i found out about this protocol earlier this year when i was looking for a new platform to build my website and start my blog. that's when i found smol.pub, and it mentioned gemini://, and the rest is history (the "discovering gemini://" part, that is. not the "building my website" part)

it's a fascinating thing to explore. one of the joys of browsing the small/indie/decentra-web is that you'll stumble upon a space you never knew existed until then. and let me tell you, the sites on the gemini protocol don't get more "small web" than that. that it's text-only, no trackers, no scripts, and no nonsense, with simple markdown that allows each individual user to adjust their browser's page appearance to their liking, is so refreshing to see

i still would've appreciated if there was more activity on gemini social spaces. it feels barren in comparison to my other favorite indie web social spaces, such as melonland, status cafe, onio club, and bear blog. and the fact that m15o here hasn't been active since 2023 doesn't spark joy. not that i need a constant barrage of content; i'm not expecting facebook, but it's just nice to know that there's another group of humans in the same space you're in, you know?