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Hi, I am new and I have created Gemini library

Sergei Gnezdov <sergei.gnezdov (a) gmail.com>

Hi everyone,

I am new to Gemini space and I have created gemini library in GO:

 ??? https://github.com/kulak/gemini

Its main advantage is that it follows patterns established in [net/http] 
package, which makes it easy for people to start writing Gemini servers.

I also adapted my favorite httprouter package to this library:

 ??? https://github.com/kulak/geminirouter

The code seems to work well and I have a small test site: 
gemini://www.argfac.com? The website is not of much value as it simply 
shows Gemini and Titan based chat setup that I have tested only on Lagrange.

I used the following resources:

- 
https://gitlab.com/gemini-specification/protocol/-/blob/master/specification.gmi
- https://communitywiki.org/wiki/Titan

I think I saw somewhere a reference to another "update" resource 
protocol, but I just could not find it.? Titan documentation was a bit 
on a hard to consume side and I actually had to dig Lagrange network 
level code to figure out what Titan is supposed to do.

I think the following are core promises of Gemini that make it great:

1. no user tracking
2. demonetization as partial result of #1
3. no adds, because it requires user to click on image.
4. true focus on content delivery and not the presentation. The 
improvement in usability due to ability to apply "stylesheets" at 
browser level and not at creator level.? This itself has huge positive 
impact on ability to consume information.

However, I have some criticism that comes with positives.

Gemini as of today will not scale in interactive usability, because user 
interaction is severely limited.? There is a statement that Gemini is 
only for consumption.? However, we have to be realistic that for 
usability of consumption to stay high, user cannot be asked to live 
Gemini browser for HTTPS powered web browser to submit a post.? That 
breaks user flow and makes Gemini not worth it.? Why to come back to 
Gemini if I just used standard browser to do something and in the 
process I compromised all the advantages listed above?

Titan protocol is a good step in the process and perhaps is the only 
required step.? I am not sure.? We have to remember about need to 
support multiple screen types from desktop to mobile and it is tough to 
create something acceptable and generic for user input under the 
restrictions Gemini protocol put in place.? I am hoping people here come 
up with something :)

I also would like to raise people's awareness, that if the network to 
grow and get any close to big, people shall expect that network would 
promote payments models, because it kills advertisements so 
efficiently.? I think it is a good thing.? I want to consume a product 
and not to be a product.? If I am a product, then UI tends to focus on 
makings adds prominent and waiting my time. That goes back to value of 
Gemini and consequence of its proposition is non-add based models.? I hope.

Link to individual message.

gemproj@suckless.anonaddy.com <gemproj (a) suckless.anonaddy.com>

On Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 7:43 AM Sergei Gnezdov 'sergei.gnezdov at gmail.com'
<gemproj+sergei.gnezdov=gmail.com at suckless.anonaddy.com> wrote:

>
> Gemini as of today will not scale in interactive usability, because user
> interaction is severely limited.  There is a statement that Gemini is
> only for consumption.  However, we have to be realistic that for
> usability of consumption to stay high, user cannot be asked to live
> Gemini browser for HTTPS powered web browser to submit a post.  That
> breaks user flow and makes Gemini not worth it.  Why to come back to
> Gemini if I just used standard browser to do something and in the
> process I compromised all the advantages listed above?
>

I know this is not very progressive to say it, but why does it need to
scale? Why does everything always have to appeal to everyone?
Not to mention the well-discussed issue as to whether content *needs* to be
updated through a browser. My stance on this is pretty much: you have to
learn things to use things. And using sftp to upload a file as a bare
minimum requirement is not hard. And it uses a protocol made for file
transfer! You can even transport images with it! </sarcasm>

In all seriousness, there are multiple real life examples of this. If you
want to learn to drive a car you need to consider learning how to drive.
Who'd think that just because you know how to ride a bike, someone tailors
your car to work like a bike, you know?

geminispace provides a nice retreat from the complexities of the clearweb
and it also makes you get back to tools that were around before everyone
decided that literally everything needs to live in a browser. It doesn't
mean that it's uncomfortable to use, but as skyjake once put it on gemini://
station.martinrue.com: there's a reason text editors are there, because
text editing is hard. Adding that to a browser is tough. If you make
titan:// mandatory in geminispace, most browsers will instead to turn to
the shell where you have immediate access to nano, vim and emacs, and what
have you gained then?

I know I am ranting. But it's been discussed. geminispace is feature
complete from a protocol end. And if it doesn't grow big, that's probably
ok. Because the people that are in geminispace are great as it is :)


>
> Titan protocol is a good step in the process and perhaps is the only
> required step.  I am not sure.  We have to remember about need to
> support multiple screen types from desktop to mobile and it is tough to
> create something acceptable and generic for user input under the
> restrictions Gemini protocol put in place.  I am hoping people here come
> up with something :)
>
> I also would like to raise people's awareness, that if the network to
> grow and get any close to big, people shall expect that network would
> promote payments models, because it kills advertisements so
> efficiently.  I think it is a good thing.  I want to consume a product
> and not to be a product.  If I am a product, then UI tends to focus on
> makings adds prominent and waiting my time. That goes back to value of
> Gemini and consequence of its proposition is non-add based models.  I hope.
>
>
>
>

Link to individual message.

colinkiama@gmail.com <colinkiama (a) gmail.com>

I think that we could add to extend the 1x status codes to support form 
inputs and secure form inputs.

Each field could have validation rules and hints to specify to the client 
that a field?s value should not be echoed. 

The size of the each submitted field would also need to be sent to the 
server so that the server knows when input ends.

With this in place, we have something that at least covers text data submission.

As an alternative, we could either merge the Gemini and Titan protocols or 
keep them separate but refer to Titan in the Gemini spec for ?advanced? input.

Regarding payments, how would 3D-Secure work for traditional card 
payments? Maybe we could also look into digital wallets?

Lastly, I think section 1.6 of the Gemini FAQ is something that may be 
worth taking a look at again: 
https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/faq.gmi. Gemini never was intended 
to replace the web. I?m completely fine with these suggestions I made 
being completely dismissed. Some problems are just better suited for 
another protocol to handle. What so you all think?

I see an opportunity for another protocol to be developed instead that 
builds upon the foundations of Gemini but actually does try to replace the web.

P.S. Thank you for making for creating a Gemini library!

> On 30 Aug 2021, at 06:43, Sergei Gnezdov <sergei.gnezdov at gmail.com> wrote:
> ?Hi everyone,
> 
> I am new to Gemini space and I have created gemini library in GO:
> 
>     https://github.com/kulak/gemini
> 
> Its main advantage is that it follows patterns established in [net/http] 
package, which makes it easy for people to start writing Gemini servers.
> 
> I also adapted my favorite httprouter package to this library:
> 
>     https://github.com/kulak/geminirouter
> 
> The code seems to work well and I have a small test site: 
gemini://www.argfac.com  The website is not of much value as it simply 
shows Gemini and Titan based chat setup that I have tested only on Lagrange.
> 
> I used the following resources:
> 
> - https://gitlab.com/gemini-specification/protocol/-/blob/master/specification.gmi
> - https://communitywiki.org/wiki/Titan
> 
> I think I saw somewhere a reference to another "update" resource 
protocol, but I just could not find it.  Titan documentation was a bit on 
a hard to consume side and I actually had to dig Lagrange network level 
code to figure out what Titan is supposed to do.
> 
> I think the following are core promises of Gemini that make it great:
> 
> 1. no user tracking
> 2. demonetization as partial result of #1
> 3. no adds, because it requires user to click on image.
> 4. true focus on content delivery and not the presentation. The 
improvement in usability due to ability to apply "stylesheets" at browser 
level and not at creator level.  This itself has huge positive impact on 
ability to consume information.
> 
> However, I have some criticism that comes with positives.
> 
> Gemini as of today will not scale in interactive usability, because user 
interaction is severely limited.  There is a statement that Gemini is only 
for consumption.  However, we have to be realistic that for usability of 
consumption to stay high, user cannot be asked to live Gemini browser for 
HTTPS powered web browser to submit a post.  That breaks user flow and 
makes Gemini not worth it.  Why to come back to Gemini if I just used 
standard browser to do something and in the process I compromised all the 
advantages listed above?
> 
> Titan protocol is a good step in the process and perhaps is the only 
required step.  I am not sure.  We have to remember about need to support 
multiple screen types from desktop to mobile and it is tough to create 
something acceptable and generic for user input under the restrictions 
Gemini protocol put in place.  I am hoping people here come up with something :)
> 
> I also would like to raise people's awareness, that if the network to 
grow and get any close to big, people shall expect that network would 
promote payments models, because it kills advertisements so efficiently.  
I think it is a good thing.  I want to consume a product and not to be a 
product.  If I am a product, then UI tends to focus on makings adds 
prominent and waiting my time. That goes back to value of Gemini and 
consequence of its proposition is non-add based models.  I hope.

Link to individual message.

gemproj@suckless.anonaddy.com <gemproj (a) suckless.anonaddy.com>

That's dedication! I presume that was a lot of work.
Have you talked to the person who invented titan:// ? I think gemini://
transjovian.org/titan is hosted by gemini://alexschroeder.ch if I am not
mistaken, someone correct me.

You should also talk to @skyjake on gemini://station.martinrue.com who
maintains Lagrange, the only browser I know of that even implemented titan.

Right now, as it stands titan is merely more than an ftp alternative. One
that you can add version management on, as if you were running a wiki.
I'm not going to discuss the pros and cons of this spec, because I have no
need for it. It works against decentralization. And just for my own gemlog,
my toolchain would allow me to upload a simple textfile via scp/sftp and
everything happens automagically.

What I will say however is, try to live within geminispace for a few
months, hang around on irc and on station. You'll notice that there's a
certain minimalism vibe to everything. People have really great ideas that
change your perspective on what you think is necessary and what isn't.

On Tue, Aug 31, 2021 at 2:15 AM Sergei Gnezdov 'sergei.gnezdov at gmail.com'
<gemproj+sergei.gnezdov=gmail.com at suckless.anonaddy.com> wrote:

> This email was sent to gemproj at suckless.anonaddy.com from
> sergei.gnezdov at gmail.com and has been forwarded by AnonAddy
> <https://anonaddy.com>
> Click here
> <https://app.anonaddy.com/deactivate/84c97fb7-dd72-4688-b653-188215324c2a
?signature=e4cd6fabb5144657ed72ac3c56cde019ecccfe366af0b08968536f9080c11eba>
> to deactivate this alias
>
> Here is my proposal.  It will be in standalone Github project.  I am
> interested to see the reaction.  The point of it is: Gemini as of today can
> stay the same and problem of form submission can be done on top of Titan.
>
> On 8/30/21 4:30 AM, gemproj at suckless.anonaddy.com wrote:
>
> On Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 7:43 AM Sergei Gnezdov 'sergei.gnezdov at
> gmail.com' <gemproj+sergei.gnezdov=gmail.com at suckless.anonaddy.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Gemini as of today will not scale in interactive usability, because user
>> interaction is severely limited.  There is a statement that Gemini is
>> only for consumption.  However, we have to be realistic that for
>> usability of consumption to stay high, user cannot be asked to live
>> Gemini browser for HTTPS powered web browser to submit a post.  That
>> breaks user flow and makes Gemini not worth it.  Why to come back to
>> Gemini if I just used standard browser to do something and in the
>> process I compromised all the advantages listed above?
>>
>
> I know this is not very progressive to say it, but why does it need to
> scale? Why does everything always have to appeal to everyone?
> Not to mention the well-discussed issue as to whether content *needs* to
> be updated through a browser. My stance on this is pretty much: you have to
> learn things to use things. And using sftp to upload a file as a bare
> minimum requirement is not hard. And it uses a protocol made for file
> transfer! You can even transport images with it! </sarcasm>
>
> In all seriousness, there are multiple real life examples of this. If you
> want to learn to drive a car you need to consider learning how to drive.
> Who'd think that just because you know how to ride a bike, someone tailors
> your car to work like a bike, you know?
>
> geminispace provides a nice retreat from the complexities of the clearweb
> and it also makes you get back to tools that were around before everyone
> decided that literally everything needs to live in a browser. It doesn't
> mean that it's uncomfortable to use, but as skyjake once put it on
> gemini://station.martinrue.com: there's a reason text editors are there,
> because text editing is hard. Adding that to a browser is tough. If you
> make titan:// mandatory in geminispace, most browsers will instead to turn
> to the shell where you have immediate access to nano, vim and emacs, and
> what have you gained then?
>
> I know I am ranting. But it's been discussed. geminispace is feature
> complete from a protocol end. And if it doesn't grow big, that's probably
> ok. Because the people that are in geminispace are great as it is :)
>
>
>>
>> Titan protocol is a good step in the process and perhaps is the only
>> required step.  I am not sure.  We have to remember about need to
>> support multiple screen types from desktop to mobile and it is tough to
>> create something acceptable and generic for user input under the
>> restrictions Gemini protocol put in place.  I am hoping people here come
>> up with something :)
>>
>> I also would like to raise people's awareness, that if the network to
>> grow and get any close to big, people shall expect that network would
>> promote payments models, because it kills advertisements so
>> efficiently.  I think it is a good thing.  I want to consume a product
>> and not to be a product.  If I am a product, then UI tends to focus on
>> makings adds prominent and waiting my time. That goes back to value of
>> Gemini and consequence of its proposition is non-add based models.  I
>> hope.
>>
>>
>>
>>

Link to individual message.

Andrew Singleton <singletona082 (a) gmail.com>

Probably been mentioned before but what is the closest we have to an official it channel?

Aug 31, 2021 5:56:01 AM gemproj at suckless.anonaddy.com:

> That's dedication! I presume that was a lot of work.
> Have you talked to the person who invented titan:// ? I think 
gemini://transjovian.org/titan[http://transjovian.org/titan] is hosted by 
gemini://alexschroeder.ch[http://alexschroeder.ch] if I am not mistaken, 
someone correct me.
> 
> You should also talk to @skyjake on 
gemini://station.martinrue.com[http://station.martinrue.com] who maintains 
Lagrange, the only browser I know of that even implemented titan.
> 
> Right now, as it stands titan is merely more than an ftp alternative. 
One that you can add version management on, as if you were running a wiki.
> I'm not going to discuss the pros and cons of this spec, because I have 
no need for it. It works against decentralization. And just for my own 
gemlog, my toolchain would allow me to upload a simple textfile via 
scp/sftp and everything happens automagically.
> 
> What I will say however is, try to live within geminispace for a few 
months, hang around on irc and on station. You'll notice that there's a 
certain minimalism vibe to everything. People have really great ideas that 
change your perspective on what you think is necessary and what isn't.
> 
> On Tue, Aug 31, 2021 at 2:15 AM Sergei Gnezdov 'sergei.gnezdov at 
gmail.com[http://gmail.com]' <gemproj+sergei.gnezdov=gmail.com at 
suckless.anonaddy.com> wrote:
>> This email was sent to gemproj at suckless.anonaddy.com from 
sergei.gnezdov at gmail.com and has been forwarded by AnonAddy[https://anonaddy.com]
>> Click here[https://app.anonaddy.com/deactivate/84c97fb7-dd72-4688-b653-1
88215324c2a?signature=e4cd6fabb5144657ed72ac3c56cde019ecccfe366af0b08968536
f9080c11eba] to deactivate this alias
>> 
>> 
>> Here is my proposal.? It will be in standalone Github project.? I am 
interested to see the reaction.? The point of it is: Gemini as of today 
can stay the same and problem of form submission can be done on top of Titan.
>> 
>> On 8/30/21 4:30 AM, gemproj at suckless.anonaddy.com wrote:
>> 
>> On Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 7:43 AM Sergei Gnezdov 'sergei.gnezdov at 
gmail.com[http://gmail.com]' <gemproj+sergei.gnezdov=gmail.com at 
suckless.anonaddy.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Gemini as of today will not scale in interactive usability, because user
>>> interaction is severely limited.? There is a statement that Gemini is
>>> only for consumption.? However, we have to be realistic that for
>>> usability of consumption to stay high, user cannot be asked to live
>>> Gemini browser for HTTPS powered web browser to submit a post.? That
>>> breaks user flow and makes Gemini not worth it.? Why to come back to
>>> Gemini if I just used standard browser to do something and in the
>>> process I compromised all the advantages listed above?
>> 
>> I know this is not very progressive to say it, but why does it need to 
scale? Why does everything always have to appeal to everyone?
>> Not to mention the well-discussed issue as to whether content *needs* 
to be updated through a browser. My stance on this is pretty much: you 
have to learn things to use things. And using sftp to upload a file as a 
bare minimum requirement is not hard. And it uses a protocol made for file 
transfer! You can even transport images with it! </sarcasm>
>> 
>> In all seriousness, there are multiple real life examples of this. If 
you want to learn to drive a car you need to consider learning how to 
drive. Who'd think that just because you know how to ride a bike, someone 
tailors your car to work like a bike, you know?
>> 
>> geminispace provides a nice retreat from the complexities of the 
clearweb and it also makes you get back to tools that were around before 
everyone decided that literally everything needs to live in a browser. It 
doesn't mean that it's uncomfortable to use, but as skyjake once put it on 
gemini://station.martinrue.com[http://station.martinrue.com]: there's a 
reason text editors are there, because text editing is hard. Adding that 
to a browser is tough. If you make titan:// mandatory in geminispace, most 
browsers will instead to turn to the shell where you have immediate access 
to nano, vim and emacs, and what have you gained then?
>> 
>> I know I am ranting. But it's been discussed. geminispace is feature 
complete from a protocol end. And if it doesn't grow big, that's probably 
ok. Because the people that are in geminispace are great as it is :)
>> ?
>>> 
>>> Titan protocol is a good step in the process and perhaps is the only
>>> required step.? I am not sure.? We have to remember about need to
>>> support multiple screen types from desktop to mobile and it is tough to
>>> create something acceptable and generic for user input under the
>>> restrictions Gemini protocol put in place.? I am hoping people here come
>>> up with something :)
>>> 
>>> I also would like to raise people's awareness, that if the network to
>>> grow and get any close to big, people shall expect that network would
>>> promote payments models, because it kills advertisements so
>>> efficiently.? I think it is a good thing.? I want to consume a product
>>> and not to be a product.? If I am a product, then UI tends to focus on
>>> makings adds prominent and waiting my time. That goes back to value of
>>> Gemini and consequence of its proposition is non-add based models.? I hope.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>

Link to individual message.

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