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Has there ever been a discussion surrounding a file format for books that works with Gemini? Like epub but containing gemtext is my idea. If no one has ever brought this up I might write a post on the idea.
1 month ago
@sirwilburtthefirst I think the goal of gemini as an archival tool is noble, but allow me to explain. For all the losses that occur when a work is translated or made digital, it ultimately becomes accessible to more people as a result of that process, and in most cases great pains are taken to ensure minimal loss in this process. Gemini is both a niche protocol and a minimalist one by intent, I don't think It's cut out for this purpose, though others obviously disagree. · 1 month ago
@sirwilburtthefirst Agreed on spliting it. Usually when I''m converting largest works for gemtext, I end up breaking them into different files for ease of reading. · 1 month ago
It's important for archival reasons. Those examples are all single files. I could never read any of those in one sitting. So I need a way to keep my place. You could jot down what chapter you're on on a piece of paper but that's not very convienent. So I'd rather have them broken down by chapter (or maybe more). So having a format makes that easier to do. · 1 month ago
Just for reference, heres some examples of regular books in regular gemtext form. Im not sure gempub is really necssary if you just want to read through a gemini browser
Frankenstein: gemini://tilde.team/~drwasabi/frank11a.gmi
Sir gibbie gemini://jdcard.com/SirGibbie.gmi
The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: gemini://tilde.team/~smokey/extras/fsm-gospel-text-full.gmi · 1 month ago
Do you mean gemtext to gempub? I'm not interested in epub personally. I am interested in producing gemtext books though, for viewing in gemini browsers. · 1 month ago
No problem :) I have a gemtext to epub script if you're interested in that · 1 month ago
@angryboyd Books are translated between formats all of the time. Should we not make classic literature available digitally just because they were not formatted that way in their original text? · 1 month ago
Thank you @smokey! This is exactly what I was looking for. · 1 month ago
gemini://gemini.quietplace.xyz/~razzlom/strangerlog/2021-04-25-ST010.gmi
https://codeberg.org/oppenlab/gempub · 1 month ago
i'll be honest, i don't think this is a good idea, in the practical sense. most books contain formatting which A) carries intent and meaning and should not be removed or altered, and B) is not compatible with gemtext, or the minimalist aims of gemtext.
i am an author who publishes directly in gemtext and i do so knowing the formatting limitations of my medium. i believe any book published in gemtext should be done so with this knowledge. otherwise, download links to epubs and pdfs serve me, and many others, just fine. · 1 month ago